Robert Francis Prevost, who was elected the 267th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday and took the name of Pope Leo XIV, is the first pope from the United States.
The decision from the 133 voter cardinals, which arrived at the White Smoke Plume at the end of the second day of the vote in the secrets of Sistine Chapel, ignored the long-standing belief that church leaders would not choose the Pope from a global superpower that already has considerable influence on the world situation.
Taking the name of Pope Leo XIV, he shares Francis' commitment to helping the poor and immigrants. He was once the Augustinian leader of his religious order, whose members are called to simply live and devote themselves to serving those in need.
In his first speech as Pope to the crowds of St. Peter's Square, he said in Italian, “We must look together for a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, a dialogue, a church that is always open to receive like an open arm like this square.”
As an American, he was in his own position, in contrast to the vibrant and conservative Catholicism of his country, pushing him forcefully back to the extremist vision of Christian power that had been elevated by the Trump administration.
On social media in February, he faced Vice President J.D. Vance directly. He argued that Christian theology could justify the need to avoid immigrants and strangers, as Christian theology actually cared for the first time for family care. Cardinal Prevost posted to X, “JD Vance is wrong.”
Despite his American roots, Chicago-born Polyglot (69) is considered a member of the church that transcends borders. The Vatican official news website framed him like the second Pope from the Americas, not the first Pope from the United States. He served in Peru for 20 years, where he became a bishop and a naturalized citizen, and later rose to lead his international religious community, the Order of St. Augustine. Under Pope Francis, he held one of the most influential Vatican posts and ran an office that globally elected and managed bishops.
It was a powerful bureaucracy that governed the church, and after experiencing frequent responsibilities and upheavals from Pope Francis, it became an attractive choice for Roman Curia, who wanted someone to know and appreciate the facility.
He told the Vatican's official news website last year, “The bishop was called humble, not a little prince sitting in his kingdom, and he said he could be close to those he serves, walking with them, suffering with them, and finding ways to better live the gospel message in the middle of his people.”
Often said to be modest and reserved, he would probably start stylistically from Francis as the Pope. Supporters believe he is likely to continue the consultation process that Francis began to include the congregational members in several meetings with the bishop.
In the conclave of ideological disparities between those who wanted to continue the inclusive but sometimes provocative agenda of Pope Francis and those who prefer to return to a more conservative path focused on doctrinal purity, Pope Leo XIV is likely to represent a balanced alternative.
“He's not an ancestor,” said Pastor Mark R. Francis, a former classmate of Cardinal Prevost, who runs the American arm of the St. Viter's clergyman, a religious order in Chicago.
“He's a very balanced person, in a way, well-balanced person who deals with crisis well,” Father Francis said. “It doesn't fluster him. He thinks about things and offers very stable leadership.”
He spent much of his life outside of the United States. Ordained in Rome in 1982 at the age of 27, he received his PhD in Canon Law from the Holy College of St. Thomas Aquinas, also in Rome. In Peru, he was a missionary, a parish priest, teacher, and bishop. As Augustine's leader, he visits orders around the world and speaks Spanish and Italian.
Francis attempted to expand the geographical diversity of the church hierarchy and named many new cardinals. Francis gave the Cardinal to his red hat in 2023, making him one of the most recent members of Cardinal of University who elected him.
The diplomatic treaty required him to naturalize as a Peruvian citizen before he became bishop of Chiclayo, a city in the country's northwestern part of the country. During his time as a bishop, he frequently visited far-reaching communities.
He incorporated people into idyllic social work, said Yolanda Diaz, a teacher and member of the Chiclayo church. “Instead of thinking that idyllic work would mean that people would go to church, he wanted the church to go to people,” she said.
Sister Diane Bergan, who taught him in Bible classes at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he received his Masters in Divinity in 1982, said he was a quiet “student.” She said that when he was made a cardinal decades after he became a student in her class, she responded quickly to a congratulatory email he sent to him and thanked him for helping him with his theological developments.
In the past, Pope Leo XIV has gained a different tone for LGBTQ people than his predecessors. When asked about gay clergy.
In his 2012 speech to the Bishop, before Pope Francis' often quoted words, Cardinal lamented that Western news media and popular culture had cultivated “sympathy for beliefs and practices that oppose the gospel.” He cited “a gay lifestyle” and “an alternative family consisting of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”
As Bishop of Chiclayo, he opposed the government's plan to add school gender teaching. “The promotion of gender ideology is confusing because we are trying to create genders that do not exist,” he told local news media.
The Prevost Cardinal, like many others who ultimately elected him, drew criticism for his dealings with a priest accused of sexual abuse.
In Chicago, advocates for victims of sexual abuse say his office did not warn nearby Catholic schools that a priest determined that church leaders had abused him for many years had evacuated to a nearby monastery since 2000.
Friends say he is laid back and humble, and always washes his own dishes to stop by the Abbey of Augustine in Rome and eat his own dishes with the priest, said Pastor Alejandro Moral Anton, successor to Cardinal Proust as the leader of Augustine in Rome.
Pastor Michele Falcone, previously priest in St. Augustine's order, said that previously led by Cardinal Prible, his leaders and friends had a collaborative leadership style and were flexible in context. He may dress up very formal for the Imperial Mass, while dressing more casually for the local parish.
He is known for playing tennis games, is a baseball fan and explains the rules to his Italian friends and some of his Augustine. Still, Father Falcone said, “It's not like Pope Francis. His passion doesn't reach those levels.”
In recent years, the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has become an important area led by Cardinal Brands J. Capich, supporting the Church's Pope Francis agenda.
The Chicagoans were soon delighted with the news that the first American pope was from their city. Father William Lego, pastor of St. Tulivius Church in Chicago, knew the new Pope during his young seminary.
“I think my classmates just got it,” he said. “They chose a good guy. He always had the feeling that he was conscious of the poor and was trying to help them.”
When his name was first announced in the square, many of the crowd were totally confused. “Not Italian?” Some said, and played an announcement he filmed on his phone to see if he could hear his name, and one man caught him on his phone.
Behind him, Nicole Serena, 21, an Italian-American studying marketing in Rome, said, “I think the American pope has just been elected.”
Benjamin Smith 20, from Crosby, Minnesota, said he had never heard of Cardiac Prevost. “But this is really great,” said Smith, an exchange student studying theology at the Pope College in St. Thomas, where Cardinal received his PhD. “I'm very excited,” Smith said.
In Peru, Father Pedro Vazquez, 82, a priest of Chiclayo, who served as bishop, served as bishop, and he said, “My heart will make me fail!”
“I'm going to pass out!” he said, “Oh, my god, my god!”
Mitra Taj contributed to reports from Lima, Peru, from Julie Truquewitz of Bogota, Colombia, Josephine de la Bruyere of Rome, and Julie Bosman of Chicago.
