Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been elected the 267th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the papal name Pope Leo XIV.
He was selected by 133 Cardinals who gathered in the Sistine Chapel for a conclave that began on Wednesday, May 7, following the death of Pope Francis.
Pope Leo XIV is the second Pope from the Americas, after Pope Francis, but the first from North America and the first member of the Augustinian order to be elected Pope.
Emerging onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the new Pontiff greeted a cheering crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square and delivered his first Urbi et Orbi ( “blessing to the city and to the world”), the traditional papal address given upon election.
He spoke in two languages, Latin and Spanish, to address the ecstatic crowd.
Who is Pope Leo XIV?
Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955, Pope Leo XIV has served the Church for more than four decades.
He was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982, and consecrated a bishop on December 12, 2014.
In September 2023, he was elevated to the College of Cardinals by the late Pope Francis.
Before his election, he held several key roles within the Vatican, most recently serving as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and President of the Commission for the Governance (Governatorato) of the Vatican City State.
The 69-year-old Pope holds both American and Peruvian citizenship, having begun his missionary work in Chulucanas, Peru, in the mid-1980s.
He later served in various leadership roles in Peru, including as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.
He also has an extensive academic background, holding a degree in Mathematics from Villanova University, a Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, and a Doctorate in Canon Law from the same institution.
The mass for Pope Leo to officially assume office is expected to take place within 10 days.
