# Pope Leo XIV

| His Holiness Pope Leo XIV |
| --- |
| Bishop of Rome |
| Leo XIV in 2025 |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Papacy began | May 8, 2025 |
| Predecessor | Francis |
| Previous post(s) | * Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine (2001‍–‍2013)
* Titular Bishop of Sufar (2014‍–‍2015)
* Apostolic Administrator of Chiclayo (2014‍–‍2015)
* Bishop of Chiclayo (2015‍–‍2023)
* Cardinal Deacon of Santa Monica (2023‍–‍2025)
* Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops (2023‍–‍2025)
* President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (2023‍–‍2025)
* Titular Cardinal Bishop of Albano (2025)
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| Orders |
| Ordination | June 19, 1982 by Jean Jadot |
| Consecration | December 12, 2014 by James Patrick Green |
| Created cardinal | September 30, 2023 by Francis |
| Rank | Cardinal Bishop |
| Personal details |
| Born | Robert Francis Prevost  (1955-09-14) September 14, 1955 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Nationality | * United States
* Peru (since 2015)
* Vatican City (since 2023)
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| Residence | Apostolic Palace, Vatican City |
| Profession | * Teacher
* theologian
* clergy
* canon lawyer
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| Education | * Villanova University (BS)
* Catholic Theological Union (MDiv)
* Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (JCL, JCD)
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| Motto | *In illo uno unum* (Latin for 'In the one [Christ we are] one') |
| Signature |  |
| Coat of arms |  |
|  |
| Ordination history |
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| History |
| --- |
| Priestly ordination |
| Ordained by | Jean Jadot |
| Date | June 19, 1982 |
| Place | St Monica's College, Rome |
| Episcopal consecration |
| Principal consecrator | James Green |
| Co-consecrators | * Jesús Moliné Labarte
* Salvador Piñeiro García-Calderón
 |
| Date | December 12, 2014 |
| Place | St. Mary's Cathedral, Chiclayo |
| Cardinalate |
| Elevated by | Pope Francis |
| Date | September 30, 2023 |

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| Other popes named Leo |

| Papal styles of **Pope Leo XIV** |
| --- |
|  |
| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |

**Pope Leo XIV** (born **Robert Francis Prevost**; September 14, 1955) is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He was elected pope at the 2025 papal conclave on May 8, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis.

Prevost was born in Chicago and became a friar in the Order of Saint Augustine during his early years. He became a priest in 1982. He spent many years doing missionary work in Peru from 1985 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1998. He became prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013, he later returned to Peru in 2015 as Bishop of Chiclayo. In 2023, Pope Francis made him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Francis later made him a cardinal the same year.

On May 8, 2025, he was elected Pope and chose the name Leo XIV. He is the first ever United States citizen to be voted Pope and the first citizen of Peru to be elected Pope. During his time as pope, Leo spoke out against armed conflict and nationalism while also supporting immigrant rights and has warned about the use of artificial intelligence. He has also supported the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.

## Early life

Robert Francis Prevost was born on September 14, 1955, at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Mildred (née Martínez) Prevost, graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor's degree in 1947, while his father, Louis Marius Prevost, was a United States Navy veteran of World War II. Prevost has two older brothers, Louis and John.

He was raised in Dolton, Illinois, a suburb close to Chicago's far South Side. He finished his secondary education at St. Augustine Seminary High School, a minor seminary in Holland, Michigan, in 1973.

Prevost earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in mathematics from Villanova University, an Augustinian college, in 1977. He earned a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982. He was a physics and math teacher at St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago during his studies. He earned a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1984, followed by a Doctor of Canon Law degree in 1987 from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

## Early career

In September 1977, Prevost joined the Order of Saint Augustine and lived in St. Louis, Missouri. He took his first vows in September 1978 and solemn vows in August 1981.

Prevost was ordained a priest by Archbishop Jean Jadot for the Augustinians in Rome on June 19, 1982. Prevost joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 when he was chancellor of the Territorial Prelature of Chulucanas (1985–1986). In 1987, he was vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Olympia Fields, Illinois, and worked with the faculty of the Augustinian Novitiate in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, before returning to Peru in 1988.

In Peru, Prevost spent years at the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo, teaching canon law in the diocesan seminary and he was a judge in the regional ecclesiastical court. He did well in the Augustinians' efforts to convince Peruvians to become priests in the order.

In 1998, Prevost was elected prior provincial of the Order of St. Augustine's Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Chicago. In 2000, he allowed Augustinian priest James Ray, to be suspended from public ministry since 1991 because of accusations of sexual abuse of minors. Ray was moved in 2002 after US bishops put stricter rules.

## Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine (2001–2013)

Prevost became Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine in 2001. He served two six-year terms until 2013. During his time there, there were complaints of abuse against minors made against Richard McGrath. From 2013 to 2014, Prevost was director of formation at the Convent of St. Augustine in Chicago and as first councilor and provincial vicar of the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel.

## Bishop of Chiclayo (2014–2023)

Prevost as Bishop of Chiclayo in 2018 talking about the poverty in the region
On November 3, 2014, Pope Francis picked Prevost to be the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo and titular bishop of Sufar. He was consecrated on December 12, 2014, at St. Mary's Cathedral in Chiclayo. On September 26, 2015, he was named bishop of Chiclayo. Due to a diplomatic treaty, Prevost became a naturalized Peruvian citizen before becoming bishop.

During his time at Chiclayo, Prevost has been accused of covering up sexual abuse. In 2022, victims of abuse in 2007 by priests Ricardo Yesquén and Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzáles said Prevost failed to investigate their case. The Diocese of Chiclayo stated that Prevost followed proper procedures and personally talked with the victims and supported them getting legal help. However some of the victims agreed the church's investigation was not thorough. In statements to the Peruvian newspaper about the abuse, Prevost said: "If you are a victim of sexual abuse by a priest, report it."

## Cardinalate (2023–2025)

Pope Francis was close to Prevost and helped him in his career. On January 30, 2023, Francis made Prevost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops with the title archbishop-bishop emeritus of Chiclayo.

On September 30, 2023, Francis made Prevost a cardinal with the rank of cardinal-deacon. Francis gave him the title of Santa Monica degli Agostiniani. As prefect, he played an important role in recommending episcopal candidates worldwide, making him an important person within the church. In October 2023, Francis appointed him as a member of seven more dicasteries and also named him to the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.

On February 6, 2025, Francis made him a cardinal-bishop and titular bishop of the Suburbicarian Diocese of Albano.

## Papacy (2025–present)

### Election

Pope Leo XIV waving at the crowds at St. Peter's Square shortly after he became pope in May 2025
Prevost was seen as a dark horse candidate during the 2025 papal conclave. He was seen as an ally of Pope Francis. His American nationality was thought to be unlikely or something that would have worked against his possible candidacy. Supporters argued that he represented a "dignified middle of the road". He had been appointed by Pope Francis as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America in 2023, the same year he was made a cardinal.

At 18:08 CEST (UTC+2), on May 8, 2025, in the fourth round of voting, on the second day of the conclave, Prevost was elected pope, becoming the first North American and first Peruvian pontiff. Prevost picked his papal name as Leo XIV. His choice of Leo XIV is inspired by Pope Leo XIII who helped modernize the papacy, and Leo XIV himself sees the current moment as a time for "cultural shifts" within the church because of artificial intelligence and robotics.

Leo appeared in the traditional papal red stole and mozzetta outfit. He then delivered his first address in Italian and Spanish, where he talked about the legacy of Pope Francis.

The Vatican called Leo as the first pope from the Order of Saint Augustine and the second pope from the Americas (after Pope Francis). He is also the first North American pope, the first born in the United States, the first to be a citizen of both Peru and the United States, the first from an English-speaking country since Adrian IV, the first named Leo since Leo XIII, the first born after World War II, and the 267th pope overall.

United States president Donald Trump, the Archbishop of Chicago Blase J. Cupich, Peruvian president Dina Boluarte, and by members of the Peruvian Congress all congratulated Leo XIV on his election as the pope.

### Tenure

Pope Leo in the popemobile during his inauguration mass in May 2025
The day after his election, on May 9, 2025, Leo celebrated his first Mass as pope in the Sistine Chapel. During the Mass he warned against the lack of faith in the world and spoke of a Church that would act as a "beacon that illuminates the dark nights of this world". It was also reported that Leo would live in the Apostolic Palace instead of the Domus Sanctae Marthae as Francis had. His inauguration mass was held on May 18 in St. Peter's Square. On May 25, he formally became as Bishop of Rome in a ceremony at the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran.

On September 7, 2025, Leo led the canonization of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati at a mass in Saint Peter's Square. On November 21, 2025, Leo signed an amendment to the 2023 law allowing women to become president of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State, removing a requirement that officeholders must hold the rank of cardinal.

Leo made his first apostolic journey, a visit to Turkey and Lebanon, from November 27 to December 2, 2025, arriving in Turkey to celebrate with Patriarch Bartholomew of the Eastern Orthodox Church the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. While in Istanbul, he visited the Blue Mosque and the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral. Leo later visited Lebanon, visiting and praying at the site of the 2020 Beirut explosion and later the tomb of Charbel Makhlouf. He returned to Rome on December 2.

In January 2026, he made his second apostolic journey, this time it was a trip to Monaco. He then made his third journey, this time it was a trip to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea in April 2026. It was the first time that a pope had visited Algeria. He met with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and visited the Great Mosque of Algiers in Algiers, then traveled to Annaba for what he described as "spiritual homecoming" to the land of St. Augustine. During this trip, he called for peace in the region while also criticizing corruption.

In April 2026, Leo criticized the ongoing Iran war. As a result, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Leo and wrote that "Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," and added, "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon." Trump also said that Leo was "too liberal". In response, Leo said he was not afraid of the Trump administration and said that he would always support peace.

On May 25, 2026, Leo published his first encyclical called *Magnifica humanitas* where he criticizes and warns about the growing use of artificial intelligence. In it, he argues that humanity faces a choice between "building Babel and rebuilding Jerusalem".

## Personal life

As a young child, Prevost liked to act out Mass with his brothers, and his family believed that he would one day become a priest.

Prevost is a sports fan, and calls himself an amateur tennis player. He is a fan of the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball, having gone to a White Sox home game during the 2005 World Series.

## Related pages

* Coat of arms of Pope Leo XIV

## Other websites

* Vatican webpage about Pope Leo XIV
* Inaugural *Urbi et Orbi*