Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday (May 8) elected Robert Francis Prevost as their 267th pope. Prevost, who has taken the name Pope Leo XIV, is the first American pontiff in history.
The development came after white smoke billowed above the Sistine Chapel, the signal that cardinals had selected a new pontiff on the second day of the conclave.
In his first speech as pope, Prevost said he wanted to “thank all my brother cardinals who have chosen me to be the successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a united church, always seeking peace and justice.” Here is everything you need to know about the new pope.
Prevost was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. “As a youth, he served as an altar boy and went to the parish school and then a seminary high school. He attended Villanova University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977,” according to a report in The Washington Post. He then studied at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago, receiving a diploma in theology.
He studied canon law of the Catholic Church at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University (Rome). After receiving priestly ordination in 1982, and his licentiate two years later, Prevost was sent to Peru for missionary work. He served nearly two decades in the South American country, except between 1987 and 1988 when he spent his time in the US as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago.
In 1998, Prevost was elected as the provincial of the Augustinian Province of Chicago, and he returned to the country the next year.
However, he once again came back to Peru in 2014 and was appointed as the bishop of Chiclayo a year later.
“While there, he also served as vice-president and member of the permanent council of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference from 2018 to 2023. During that time, Peru’s bishops reportedly played an important role in ensuring institutional stability during the successive political crises that led to the overthrows of successive presidents,” according to The College of Cardinals Report.
In 2023, Prevost was appointed, by the late Pope Francis, as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a powerful position responsible for selecting bishops. The same year, he became the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal.
Notably, over the years, Prevost has faced allegations of mishandling or failing to act on sexual abuse cases involving priests in both Peru and the US.
Sources told The Independent that Prevost was the “dark horse” candidate who quietly rose to prominence in the days just before the conclave, having been made a cardinal-bishop in February.
By becoming the new pope, he has defied the widely held belief that any American would be a long shot to become pontiff.
Prevost is often seen as reserved and discreet. “He would depart stylistically from Francis as pope. Supporters believe he will most likely continue the consultative process started by Francis to invite lay people to meet with bishops,” according to a report by The New York Times.
