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Pope Leo XIV, 69, was elected to take up the papal seat on Thursday, on the second day of the papal conclave’s deliberations.
Robert Prevost, born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, was seen as a leading candidate to follow Pope Francis after his passing last month. However, some reports indicated that his American nationality might be a disadvantage, as there were concerns that the United States could potentially increase its influence through him as a religious figure.
Leo XIV was initially invited to the Vatican by Francis to take on the role of prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023. This role holds significant weight within the Catholic Church as it involves evaluating bishop nominations on a global scale.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost from the U.S., stands on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on May 8, 2025. (Reuters/Claudia Greco)
Between 1987 and 1988, he returned to the U.S., where he served as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago, before he returned to Peru for another 10 years to head the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo and teach Cannon Law.
Eventually, he made his way back to his hometown, where, in 1999, he was elected provincial prior of the “Mother of Good Counsel” in Chicago.
Leo would go on to be elected twice as leader of the Augustinian religious order, a 13th century order founded by St. Augustine.
He had caught the attention of Francis, who, after becoming pope in 2013, moved Leo back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and eventually archbishop of Chiclayo.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, May 8, 2025. (Reuters, Stoyan Nenov)
Leo got his Peruvian citizenship in 2015, where he remained until he was moved to the Vatican in 2023.
During his final years in Peru, Leo also served as vice-president of the permanent council of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference from 2018 to 2023, which likely helped him secure his role as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Francis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
