Robert Prevost has become the 267th pope, the first time in 2,000 years that an American has been appointed to lead the Catholic church.
Chicago-born Prevost has chosen to be known as Leo XIV. As Bishop of Chicago, the 69-year-old oversaw the largest Archdiocese in North America.
Prior to his election, many observers had questioned him as a candidate, due to his relative young age and inexperience. Some speculated that cardinals would also wish to select a European, following 12 years of tenure by Pope Francis – an Argentinian.
Prevost, who holds both American and Peruvian citizenship, previously served as prefect of the Vatican’s dicastery for bishops, which handles various administrative and pastoral responsibilities of the Holy See, including the vetting nominations for bishops around the world.
He also served as the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, where nearly 40 per cent of the world’s Catholics reside.
Prevost assumed both these roles in 2023, making him relatively inexperienced, but he was favored by Pope Francis and was believed to be considered the main “Bergoglian” candidate, as an ally of the late head of the Vatican.
Vatican insiders described him as the “dark horse” candidate who quietly rose to prominence in the days just before the conclave, having been made a cardinal-bishop in February this year.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955, Prevost had a long career in missionary work in South America, working for nearly 15 years in Peru until 1998. In 2015, he was appointed the bishop of Chiclayo in northwest Peru.
Growing up, a steady stream of priests passed through his family home, and the youngster reportedly had a positive experience of parish life, serving as an altar boy and attending the parish school.
He was sent to study canon law at the Angelicum in Rome and was ordained as a preist in the city in 1982. After completing his studies, he was invited to work in the Territorial Prelature of Chulucanas, in northwestern Peru, which held strong connections with the U.S. Augustinians.
In 1999, he was elected provincial prior of the Midwest Augustinians, and two years later, in 2001, Prevost was elected prior general of the worldwide Augustinian order, a post he held for two six-year terms.
In 2014, he returned to northwestern Peru, after Francis named him apostolic administrator of the Chiclayo diocese.
Prevost was appointed a member of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2020, and later became its head.
He has championed the importance of on the ground work. In a 2023 interview with Vatican News, he said: “One must not give in to the temptation to live isolated, separated in a palace, satisfied with a certain social level or a certain level within the church.
“The authority we have is to serve, to accompany priests, to be pastors and teachers.”
Prevost is also an expert in canon law, a system that functions like a constitution and legal system specifically for the Catholic Church, affording him appeal to the more traditional wings of the Vatican.
However, it remains to be seen how he will respond to the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump, who posted his congratulations on his social media platform Truth Social after the announcement.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country,” Trump wrote. “I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Earlier this year, Provost publicly voiced opposition to remarks by vice president JD Vance, on the theological concept of “ordo amoris.”
“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” he wrote on X.
Provost’s latest post on X was a repost of of an account criticizing the Trump administration’s policy on immigrant deportations.
In 1999, he was elected provincial prior of the Midwest Augustinians. A year into the role, he permitted a priest who sexually abused minors to live in a Chicago rectory half a block from a Catholic school, at the archdiocese’s request.
