Last Updated on May 11, 2025 by Editor
Courtesy of Vatican News
The first Augustinian Pope, Leo XIV is the second Roman Pontiff — after Pope Francis — from the Americas. Unlike Jorge Mario Bergoglio, however, the 69-year-old Robert Francis Prevost is from the United States, though he spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being elected head of the Augustinians for two consecutive terms.
First Augustinian pope
The new Bishop of Rome was born on Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, to Louis Marius Prevost, of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martínez, of Spanish descent. He has two brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph.
He spent his childhood and adolescence with his family and studied first at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers and then at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where in 1977 he earned a Degree in Mathematics and also studied Philosophy.
On Sept, 1 of the same year, Prevost entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.) in Saint Louis, in the Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Chicago, and made his first profession on Sept. 2, 1978. On Aug. 29, 1981, he made his solemn vows.
The future pontiff received his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. At the age of 27, he was sent by his superiors to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum).
In Rome, he was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica by Archbishop Jean Jadot, then pro-president of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, which later became the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and then the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
Prevost obtained his licentiate in 1984 and the following year, while preparing his doctoral thesis, was sent to the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, Piura, Peru (1985–1986). In 1987, he defended his doctoral thesis on “The Role of the Local Prior in the Order of St. Augustine” and was appointed vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Olympia Fields, Illinois (USA).
Mission in Peru
The following year, he joined the mission in Trujillo, also in Peru, as director of the joint formation project for Augustinian candidates from the vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos, and Apurímac.
Over the course of 11 years, he served as prior of the community (1988–1992), formation director (1988–1998), and instructor for professed members (1992–1998), and in the Archdiocese of Trujillo as judicial vicar (1989–1998) and professor of Canon Law, Patristics, and Moral Theology at the Major Seminary “San Carlos y San Marcelo.”
At the same time, he was also entrusted with the pastoral care of Our Lady Mother of the Church, later established as the parish of Saint Rita (1988–1999), in a poor suburb of the city, and was parish administrator of Our Lady of Monserrat from 1992 to 1999.
In 1999, he was elected Provincial Prior of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Chicago, and two and a half years later, the ordinary General Chapter of the Order of St. Augustine, elected him as Prior General, confirming him in 2007 for a second term.
In October 2013, he returned to his Augustinian Province in Chicago, serving as director of formation at the St. Augustine Convent, first councilor, and provincial vicar — roles he held until Pope Francis appointed him on Nov. 3, 2014, as Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo, elevating him to the episcopal dignity as Titular Bishop of Sufar.
He entered the Diocese on Nov. 7, in the presence of Apostolic Nuncio James Patrick Green, who ordained him Bishop just over a month later, on Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the Cathedral of St. Mary.
His episcopal motto is “In Illo uno unum” — words pronounced by St. Augustine in a sermon on Psalm 127 to explain that “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.”
Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru
On Sept. 26, 2015, he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo by Pope Francis. In March 2018, he was elected second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, where he also served as a member of the Economic Council and president of the Commission for Culture and Education.
In 2019, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Congregation for the Clergy (July 13, 2019), and in 2020, a member of the Congregation for Bishops (Nov. 21). Meanwhile, on April 15, 2020, he was also appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Callao.
Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops
On Jan. 30, 2023, the Pope called him to Rome as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, promoting him to the rank of Archbishop.
Appointed cardinal in 2024
Pope Francis created him Cardinal in the Consistory of Sept. 30 that year and assigned him the Diaconate of St. Monica. He officially took possession of it on Jan. 28, 2024.
As head of the Dicastery, he participated in the Pope’s most recent Apostolic Journeys and in both the first and second sessions of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, held in Rome from Oct. 4 to 29, 2023, and from Oct. 2 to 27, 2024, respectively.
Meanwhile, on Oct. 4, 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as a member of the Dicasteries for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches), for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Eastern Churches, for the Clergy, for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for Culture and Education, for Legislative Texts, and of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.
Finally, on Feb. 6 of this year, the Argentine Pope promoted him to the Order of Bishops, granting him the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano.
Three days later, on Feb. 9, he celebrated the Mass presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square for the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, the second major event of the Holy Year of Hope.
During the most recent hospitalization of his predecessor at the Gemelli hospital, Prevost presided over the Rosary for Pope Francis’s health in St. Peter’s Square on March 3.
10 things to know about the new pope
A HEART FOR THE POOR
Pope Leo XIV has spent much of his priesthood in some of the world’s most forgotten places, slums, war zones, and refugee camps. He doesn’t just preach about the poor; he walks with them and prays with them.
A HUMBLE BEGINNING
Born in a quiet village, his life started with simplicity, his family wasn’t wealthy, but they were rich in faith. He’s often said, “It was my grandmother who first taught me how to speak to God.”
HE’S A POLYGLOT
This pope speaks seven languages fluently, and not just for show. He uses them to break down barriers and make people feel seen, no matter where they come from.
A COURAGEOUS VOICE IN CRISIS
During a violent uprising in his home country, he risked his life sheltering persecuted people inside his parish church. He’s not afraid to stand in the fire for the truth neither is he afraid to defend his faith.
HE’S NOT A FAN OF FLASHINESS
Just like Pope Francis, don’t expect gold rings and grand entrances. Leo XIV prefers worn sandals to polished shoes and once gave away his own episcopal cross to a homeless man.
DEEPLY MARIAN
His devotion to Our Lady is striking. He begins every day with the Rosary and ends it before an image of Mary he’s carried since seminary.
AN ADVOCATE FOR THE YOUTH
He believes the Church can’t just talk to young people, it must listen to them. He once held an all-night vigil just to answer questions from a group of university students.
HE WRITES WITH HIS HEART
Before becoming Pope, he published spiritual reflections under a pen name. His words are raw, full of grace, and deeply human. (Yes, I tracked some down, they moved me.)
FIRM YET GENTLE
He’s known for his quiet authority. When he speaks, people listen. Not because he shouts, but because he carries truth with humility and tenderness.
HE TOOK THE NAME “LEO” FOR A REASON
He chose “Leo” in honor of St. Leo the Great, who defended truth with boldness and built bridges in times of division.