Pope Leo XIV as seen by friends from same religious order

Friends of the new pope from the same religious order have been providing an insight into Leo XIV's character.

Hours after Leo was selected by cardinals in the conclave, his friends from the Order of Saint Augustine spoke to the Associated Press about the new Pope's down to earth human touch.

Father Alexander Lam, an Augustinian friar from Peru, where Leo was based, said he had time for everyone.

"He was very much loved (in Peru). Even the bishops of Peru called him the saint, the Saint of the North, and he had time for everyone."

Father Lam said justice, peace, and environment were "topics that always touched him deeply."

"When Pope Francis went to Peru, he was one of the bishops who slept with the people, doing the vigil with the people on the ground. And Roberto has that style, that closeness."

Father Franz Klein, treasurer general of the Augustinian order, who also personally knows the new Pope, described him as a man "who likes to follow the rules of the church and of society" who was likely to "build bridges."

"That was his first thing. Peace be with you, but let us go together, altogether. He meant all these people who are the Catholics in this world, you know.”