Who is Pope Leo XIV
Conclave concluded, American Pope chosen
On May 8th, 2025, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was chosen as our next pope. He took the name Pope Leo XIV. Born in a suburb on Chicago’s southside, Prevost is the first pope from the United States and the first Augustinian to hold the honor. He became an Augustinian friar in 1977 and was formally ordained as a priest in 1982.
Pope Leo XIV spent much of his ecclesiastical career in Peru. He did missionary work in the South American country from 1985 - 1986 and again in 1988 – 1998. He holds dual citizenship in the United States and Peru. During his time there, he played many roles including parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher and administrator. In 2001, he was appointed the prior general of the Augustinians and served in that capacity until 2013.
He later returned to his beloved Peru as the Bishop of Chiclayo. In 2023, when he was appointed a cardinal, Pope Francis I also made him the prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, which is responsible for appointing bishops worldwide. He also became the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Born on September 14, 1955, Leo XIV is just 69 years old so his reign is expected to last a while. He is of Italian, Spanish and French heritage. His mother had a degree in library science and his father was in the Navy and was superintendent of the Brookwood School District 167 in Glenwood, Illinois. He has two older brothers with whom he’d often play mass with and pretend to give them the Eucharist. It seems that he aspired to be a priest from a very early age.
Prevost has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics awarded by Villanova University, an Augustinian college. He then went on to receive a Master of Divinity (Catholic Theological Union – Chicago), a Licentiate of Canon Law and a Doctor of Canon Law (Pontifical Uieristy of St. Thomas Aquinas – Rome). In 2014, Villanova awarded him with an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.
He was very outspoken against the authoritarian Fujimoto regime in Peru and is well regarded there. That does not mean he has not seen controversy. Allegations of sexual abuse in his bishophric of Chiclayo stained his reputation. He was not the perpetrator of the abuse, but, as bishop, some felt that he did not investigate the situation thoroughly. Prevost, for his part, has always expressed sympathy for the victims of the abuse and strongly encourages people to report wrongdoing to both ecclesiastical and civil authorities. Many believe he handled the situation as best as he could and most consider him to be a progressive in line with Pope Francis I’s policies.
Sources say that he was not thrilled to receive his assignment in Rome in 2023. He did not want to leave his beloved Peru behind. However, as duty dictated, he did his job well and was eventually promoted to both a cardinal deacon and finally, a cardinal bishop.
Pope Leo XIV went into the conclave as a dark horse candidate. However, he was chosen after only four votes. He delivered his first address in Spanish and Italian, which upset some conservatives in the United States. He has clashed with them before as a proponent of immigrant and workers’ rights. He will reside in the Apostolic Palace and is set to perform his first official Mass on May 18th at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Catholics worldwide praised the choice of Pope Leo XIV. They consider him to be an appropriate heir to the progressive Francis I and hope that he will continue moving the Church forward in policy and standing up to authoritarian politics throughout the world. I, myself, am pleased that the Church is continuing to move in this direction and am excited to see how Leo XIV will take his place amongst his predecessors.
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