The Roman Catholic Church has a new pope: Leo XIV.
Prior to his historic election Thursday via conclave, Leo was known as Cardinal Robert Prevost. The 69-year-old was born in Chicago, making him the first American to be elected to the papacy. Prevost’s selection on the fourth ballot ended the search for a successor to Pope Francis following the latter’s death on April 21.
Pope Leo greeted followers for the first time from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City about an hour after white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel, signaling the cardinals had agreed on a new leader. “Peace be with you all,” he began his short remarks in Italian.
“We can be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, that is always open to receive everyone—just like in this square, to welcome everyone, in charity, dialogue and love,” he told the large crowd, per The Washington Post.
Although he has decades of experience within the church, Prevost’s selection came as a relative surprise given his origins. The only other pope to come from the Americas was Francis, who hailed from Argentina. As the world becomes familiar with the new holy leader, here’s what you need to know about Pope Leo XIV.
He has two brothers
Prevost was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton.
His parents were Louis Marius Prevost, an educator, and Mildred Martínez, a librarian. Robert also has two brothers, Louis Martin Prevost and John Joseph Prevost.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Prevosts were members of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish near the Chicago border. The family participated as musicians, altar boys, and lectors. “To think about we knew him when he was a kid,” a childhood friend, Noelle Neis, told the newspaper. “He’s just like one of us. Before [the papacy] was so out of reach for anybody.”
He studied mathematics in college
Prevost completed his undergraduate education at Villanova University, where he earned a bachelor of science in mathematics in 1977. Prevost then earned a master of divinity degree from Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union in 1982 and was ordained a priest that same year. He later picked up licentiate and doctorate degrees in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
Prevost holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru
Much of Prevost’s early ministry took place in Peru. He joined the country’s Augustinian mission in 1985 and, while in the country, oversaw the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo and taught canon law before returning to Chicago in 1999.
Prevost went back to Peru in 2014 after Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo. A year later, he acquired Peruvian citizenship.
A reflection of his global outreach, Prevost is fluent in five languages—English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French—according to The Washington Post.
He was close with Pope Francis
Of the now 267 popes in the history of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV is only the second from the Americas along with his immediate predecessor. It’ll be a long time before any country or region catches Italy, which has produced 217 popes from its mainland or related territories.
However, the bonds between Leo and Francis run much deeper than geography. In January 2023, Francis called Prevost to the Vatican to serve as leader of the Dicastery for Bishops, the office that selects bishops around the world. According to PBS, Prevost presided over one of Pope Francis’ most notable reforms that added three women to the voting base that decides which bishop nominations are forwarded to the pope.
Later that year, on September 30, Francis appointed Prevost a cardinal. Yet another new responsibility was added to his plate in 2023 when he became president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Prevost was linked to two sexual abuse cases
Prevost was previously linked to a pair of sexual abuse cases involving priests in Chicago and Peru. In each instance, he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
According to The Washington Post, a priest found to have sexually abused minors was allowed to stay at a monastery near a Catholic elementary school while Prevost led the Augustinian Province of Chicago. The Vatican denied that Prevost ever authorized the arrangement more than two decades ago.
More recently, two priests from the Chiclayo diocese in Peru were accused of molesting three young girls during Prevost’s tenure as bishop. A complaint from the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) claimed that “Prevost failed to open an investigation [and] sent inadequate information to Rome.” Again, the Vatican cleared Prevost of any misconduct.
Ultimately, the investigations didn’t affect his chances of election.
He advocates on progressive social issues
According to CBS News, Prevost is considered an overall centrist in his ideologies. However, he is more progressive when it comes to social issues and champions the poor and migrants. Leo has also forcefully supported efforts to manage the impacts of climate change.
Notably, he has criticized U.S. immigration policies under President Donald Trump. Leo once retweeted a post on X (formerly Twitter) that said: “There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.”
Prevost also criticized comments by Vice President JD Vance about the Christian concept of “ordo amordis,” or order of love. The cardinal shared an op-ed via social media with the headline: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
It remains to be seen if he’ll continue to be so forthcoming with his critiques in his new role.
Check back soon for a complete biography of Pope Leo XIV.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
