Pope Leo XIV

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.

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) 
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

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
The day after his election, on May 9, 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.

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

Notes

References

Other websites

 Vatican webpage about Pope Leo XIV
 Inaugural Urbi et Orbi

Category:Popes
Category:Religious leaders from Chicago
Category:Living people
Category:Roman Catholic bishops
Category:American cardinals
Category:1955 births
Category:People from Dolton, Illinois
Category:Lawyers from Chicago
Category:Educators from Chicago
Category:American theologians