Pope Francis brought Robert Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. On Thursday, he ascended to become Pope Leo XIV â the first American pontiff.
Prevost, 69, had to overcome the taboo against a US pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States in the secular sphere.
So who is Robert Francis Prevost?
The Chicago native is also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.
He had prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals have.
Prevost was twice elected prior general, or top leader, of the Augustinians, the 13th century religious order founded by St Augustine.
Francis clearly had an eye on him for years, moving him from the Augustinian leadership back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and later archbishop of Chiclayo.
He stayed in that role, gaining Peruvian citizenship in 2015, until Francis invited him to Rome in 2023 to lead the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. In this position, he would have maintained frequent communication with the Catholic hierarchy in the region that has the highest number of Catholics.
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Ever since arriving in Rome, Prevost has kept a low public profile, but he was well known to the men who count.
Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope. In early 2025, Francis again showed his esteem by appointing Prevost to the most senior rank of cardinals.
The Reverend Fidel Purisaca Vigil, the communications director for Prevost’s old diocese in Chiclayo, remembers the cardinal rising each day and having breakfast with his fellow priests after saying his prayers.
“No matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy,” Purisaca said in an email.
Who is Robert F Prevost?
Date of Birth: September 14, 1955
Nationality: American and Peruvian
Position: Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops; president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America under Francis
Experience: Archbishop of Chiclayo, Peru; head of the Augustinian religious order
Made a cardinal by: Francis
