Pope Leo XIV becomes history’s first American pontiff. Who is Robert Prevost?

Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope on Thursday, becoming the first pontiff from the United States. He chose the name Leo XIV after cardinals from across the world selected him to lead the Catholic Church’s 1.4 billion followers.

From the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, in his first public words as Pope Francis’ successor, Prevost said, “Peace be with you,” speaking of a “disarmed and disarming peace,” dialogue and spreading the faith.

Prevost, aged 69 and originally from Chicago, spent much of his life working as a missionary in Peru. He was made a cardinal in 2023 and has rarely spoken to the press.

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White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel on the second day of voting, signalling that a new pope had been chosen. Church bells rang out across Rome as news of the decision spread.

Crowds in St Peter’s Square applauded as Prevost stepped out onto the balcony. He smiled, waved with both hands and bowed to those gathered.

Notably, Prevost is remembered in Peru as a devoted missionary who walked through floodwaters to reach people in need during heavy rains. As a bishop, he also helped secure oxygen plants during the Covid-19 crisis.

In this explainer, we explore what is known about the new pope, his past, and his views.

Who is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV?

Robert Prevost is a member of the Augustinian order who spent most of his life working in Peru. He chose the name Leo XIV after being elected pope.

While he had long been seen as a contender, some believed a US pope was unlikely due to the global influence the country already holds.

However, Prevost also holds Peruvian citizenship and spent many years in the country, first as a missionary and later as a bishop. This background may have helped cardinals view him as a suitable choice.

Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, seemed to consider Prevost a natural successor. He had sent him to manage a complex diocese in Peru and, in 2023, brought him to the Vatican to lead the powerful office responsible for choosing bishops worldwide. This role is considered one of the Church’s most influential.

Earlier this year, Francis promoted Prevost to the higher ranks of cardinals, giving him visibility and influence ahead of the conclave.

Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Prevost began his religious path at a minor seminary in St Louis. He later graduated in mathematics from Villanova University, an Augustinian college in Philadelphia.

He earned a master’s degree in divinity from Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union in 1982 and a doctorate in canon law from Rome. Fluent in several languages, he went to Peru in 1985, beginning the first of many years in mission service.

In 1999, he returned to the US, where he became provincial prior of the Augustinians in the Midwest, then served as prior general of the order worldwide.

He returned to Peru in 2014 when Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in the north of the country.

His 2023 appointment as head of the Vatican’s bishop-selection office came after Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada stepped down following sexual assault allegations. The Vatican later closed the case against Ouellet due to a lack of evidence.

Notably, Prevost also leads the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Observers said that choosing the name Leo was meaningful. Past popes named Leo were known for their focus on social justice and reform, suggesting Pope Leo XIV may continue some of Francis’ key priorities.

Why did Prevost choose the name Leo?

The last pope to take the name Leo led the Church from 1878–1903. Leo XIII was known for his devoted focus to social justice issues, and is often credited with laying the foundation for modern Catholic social teaching.

Prevost has attracted interest from his peers because of his quiet style and support for Francis, especially his commitment to social justice issues.

Prevost served as a bishop in Chiclayo, in north-western Peru, from 2015 to 2023.

Francis brought him to Rome that year to head the Vatican office in charge of choosing which priests should serve as Catholic bishops across the globe, meaning he has had a hand in selecting many of the world’s bishops.

What are the first American pope’s views on Trump?

Notably, Pope Leo XIV shared articles criticising US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on social media months before his election as America’s first pontiff, particularly on issues of migration.

In February, the then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost reposted on X a headline and a link to an essay saying Vance was “wrong” to quote Catholic doctrine to support Washington’s cancellation of foreign aid.

The article took issue with Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019 and argued that Christians should love their family first before prioritising the rest of the world.

“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” said the headline reposted on Prevost’s account, along with a link to the story by the National Catholic Reporter.

After becoming vice president, Vance justified the cancellation of nearly all US foreign assistance by quoting 12th-century theologian Thomas Aquinas’s concept of “ordo amoris,” or “order of love.”

The late pope Francis, in a letter soon afterwards to US bishops, said that “true ordo amoris” involved building “a fraternity open to all, without exception.”

A few days later Prevost posted the headline and link of another article about Vance’s doctrinal arguments, which referred to Francis’s criticisms of Trump’s mass deportations of migrants.

The future pope’s last activity on X before his election on Thursday was to repost a comment by another user criticising the Trump administration’s mistaken deportation of a migrant to El Salvador.

The post talked about “suffering” and asked, “Is your conscience not disturbed?”

Trump, who had posted an AI-generated image of himself in papal clothes a few days earlier, said the election of the first pope from the United States was a “great honour for our country.”

Pope Leo is a White Sox fan

For decades, long-suffering Chicago White Sox fans grumbled that it would take divine intervention for their baseball team to succeed. Now they have the holiest of supporters in their corner: Pope Leo XIV.

He has been a longtime fan of one of his two hometown baseball franchises.

Initially it appeared that both Chicago teams were claiming Leo as their own, fuelling a cross-town beef – until the pope’s brother weighed in.

Speaking to local television station WGN, John Prevost said, “Yeah he was never, ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from," John Prevost told the station, referring to the other Chicago team in Major League Baseball. “He was always a Sox fan.”

The Sox swiftly took to X to capitalise on how the worldwide news touched their team, posting a photograph of a sign at their home stadium Rate Field, the former Comiskey Park, that reads: “HEY CHICAGO, HE’S A SOX FAN!”

The team added in its post: “Well, would you look at that… Congratulations to Chicago’s own Pope Leo XIV.”

With inputs from AFP, AP & Reuters