BALTIMORE — At Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Archbishop William Lori said a Mass of Thanksgiving on Thursday evening in honor of Pope Leo XIV.

The black bunting that had been hanging outside the church since the passing of Pope Francis was replaced with white and yellow papal bunting just hours after the new pope was announced.

Archbishop Lori says this is a joyous day for the entire world, especially us here at home. Pope Leo XIV is a Chicago native, and a graduate of Villanova University outside of Philadelphia.

"He thoroughly understands American culture. He thoroughly understands the challenges and opportunities that the Catholic Church in the United States is facing," Archbishop Lori told WMAR-2 News.

He says Pope Leo XIV's American roots are a point of pride, and hopes his papacy will inspire more Americans to join or come back to the church.

"We're seeing right now in the United States, the beginnings of a surge of young adults coming into the church. I would be very confident that Pope Leo XIV will encourage us and encourage that kind of missionary activity. Pope Francis always talked about going to the margins, going to places that industrialized wealthy countries tend to overlook, making sure the church is present there. I have no doubt that Leo XIV will continue to stress that very important missionary mandate of our church," Archbishop Lori told WMAR-2 News.

69 year-old Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was made a cardinal by Pope Francis, and as a relatively younger pontiff, Archbishop Lori commented on whether he thinks he'll follow in Pope Prancis' footsteps of being more reform-minded and inclusive.

He pointed to the fact that he chose the name Leo; the last pope who took that name was Pope Leo XIII in the late 19th century, who was known as a social reformer.

"I don't know this for sure, but I think he chose that name on purpose and that would signal great continuity with the pontificate of Pope Francis who also laid great stress on social issues, for example, the environment or immigration or um issues like that in which the church is inevitably involved because the church is everywhere," Archbishop Lori said. "He has not declared himself, wanting to make major changes in the church's teaching, but I think he will be a great unifier."

This was also one of the shortest papal conclaves in history. The archbishop said he was initially surprised by how quickly the cardinals were able to come to a decision.

"However, I think that he might have been the one cardinal everybody knew pretty well because he was head of the Dicastery for Bishops and I think he was also someone who's traveled all around the world and in his role as the General Superior of the Augustinians, so maybe in hindsight it's not too surprising that they coalesced around him quickly."

There will be a ceremonial mass to formally install the new pope in the coming days. Archbishop Lori hopes to travel to Rome to attend.