Who is Pope Leo XIV, the new American leader of the Catholic Church?

THE NEWLY ELECTED Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, is the Catholic Church’s first ever pope to come from the United Sates. 

Having entered Conclave without a favourite’s tag, the announcement of the 69-year-old’s election came as a surprise to many Vatican observers. 

Born in Chicago in 1955, Prevost has a mix of French, Italian and Spanish heritage. 

He is multilingual, speaking English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese. He can also read German and Latin. 

In 1977, he joined the Order of St. Augustine and took his vows to become a priest in 1981. 

Prevost spent many years in Peru with the Augustine mission there. He first served in the Latin American country from 1985 to 1986. He then returned to Peru in 1988 and spent ten years there, serving as the head of the Augustine seminary in the city of Trujillo. 

After finishing his time in Peru, he returned to Chicago and in 2001 he became the leader of the Augustinians. He served a six-year term as Prior General and was then elected to serve a second term, which concluded in 2013. 

In 2015, Prevost became the bishop of Chicalyo in Peru where he held various other titles until Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2023.

Advertisement

Pope Francis also appointed him to the powerful position of Prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, the office responsible for assessing and recommending prospective bishops. 

During his time in leadership positions in the Church, Prevost was the target of criticism for his handling of sexual abuse allegations made against priests. 

Victims of alleged abused at the hands of priests in Peru said he failed to investigate their complaints. His diocese denied he had been involved in any cover-up. 

The Chicago branch of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) accused him of protecting a priest who was accused of sexual abuse at a secondary school in Illinois. 

“With Prevost, we definitely do not want to enter into another situation where there is a cardinal that becomes pope that has bad things in their closet,” said a SNAP member ahead of the conclave earlier this month.

Prevost has shown a willingness to wade into domestic politics in the US. 

In February this year, he criticised comments made by Vice President JD Vance. 

In an interview with Fox News, Vance said: 

“There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbour, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that.”

“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” Prevost wrote on X. 

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More Support The Journal