Robert Francis Prevost was elected on Thursday as the 267th pope by 133 cardinals, becoming the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.
The first American to hold the papacy, he selected the name Leo XIV.
Who is the new pope?
Robert Francis Prevost, 69, hails from Chicago but spent two decades in Peru, where he became a bishop and a naturalized citizen. He later led the Augustinian religious order internationally and, until recently, oversaw the powerful Vatican office responsible for appointing bishops worldwide.
A member of the Order of St. Augustine, Prevost shares many traits with Pope Francis, particularly a deep commitment to the poor and displaced. He emphasized pastoral humility in a 2024 interview with the Vatican’s news service, saying:
“The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom.”
Ordained in 1982 at the age of 27, Prevost earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
In Peru, he served as a missionary, parish priest, educator, and bishop.
Fluent in Spanish and Italian, he has spent much of his life outside the U.S., ministering across borders and cultures.
