An American who made his name in Peru is now the Bishop of Rome.
Pope Leo XIV 鈥 the Catholic leader formerly known as Robert Francis Prevost 鈥 was the surprise pick when the Sistine Chapel鈥檚 white smoke cleared Thursday.
Not an Asian or African shepherd to lead the flock in regions where the Catholic faith is growing at its fastest.
Not a return-to-tradition Italian after the shock retirement of Germany鈥檚 Pope Benedict XVI聽and the humble, boundary-pushing progressive Pope Francis, whose term at the head of the church might be best summed up with his famous answer to a question about homosexuality: “Who am I to judge?”
Instead, a 69-year-old American who has run what is essentially the Vatican鈥檚 HR department 鈥 the Dicastery聽for聽Bishops 鈥 since 2023. The son of an educator and librarian, one of three Prevost boys, from the South Side Chicago suburb of Dolton.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV is seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on Thursday.
Antonio Masiello/Getty Images鈥淚t is such an honour to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honour for our Country,鈥 , who ticked off many of the world鈥檚 1.4-billion Catholics by posting an AI-generated photo of himself in the white papal robes.
But on Thursday, Peru also claimed a piece of the new pope, celebrating the fact that he took Peruvian citizenship in 2015 and, , that he was still covered under the country鈥檚 health insurance plan.
He was raised in Chicago, with a former classmate remembering him as 鈥.鈥 His educational path veered toward the heavenly after the 8th grade, when he enrolled in a seminary high school.
But Bob, as he was known back then, received his undergraduate degree in math, of all subjects, before .
In the late 1980s and 1990s, he worked as a missionary in Peru, then returned to Chicago in 1999 before the pope sent him back to South America, appointing him to lead the Diocese of Chiclayo, a seaside city in northwestern Peru.
He served as bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023 and, on Thursday, acknowledged that bond in a Spanish-language shout-out from the papal balcony in Rome to 鈥渕y beloved diocese of Chiclayo, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith, and given so much to continue being a Church faithful to Jesus Christ.鈥
His election, then, leaves two countries 鈥 the U.S. and Peru 鈥 claiming their first-ever pope. He will, however, be the 14th聽Vatican leader to take the name Leo. The last one before him was Italian Gioacchino Pecci, whose 25-year reign lasted from 1878 to 1903, one of the longest on record.
U.S. citizens celebrate in Rome after Pope Leo XIV’s first address to the crowd from the main central loggia balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty ImagesAt the relatively young age (for a pope) of 69 and appearing to be in decent physical shape 鈥 Prevost聽, when he was named a cardinal, that he was 鈥渜uite the amateur tennis player鈥 鈥 the world may have a vested interest in getting used to the most recent Leo.
He could be around for quite a while.
So what can the world expect?
The veteran American Vatican observer John Allen Jr., in touting him as a papal contender, said he had developed a reputation as 鈥渁 moderate, balanced figure, known for solid judgment and a keen capacity to listen, and someone who doesn鈥檛 need to pound his chest to be heard.鈥
Father Kevin Storey, the Superior General of the Basilian Fathers in Toronto, watched from afar, thrilled to see the cardinal with whom he had an unexpected connection last summer in Rome emerge Thursday wearing the papal robes.
Storey went to the meeting expecting to meet with one of the then-cardinal’s assistants. Instead, they shared three quarters of an hour talking about their shared experiences as North Americans doing missionary work in South America.
鈥淚n Spanish would say it’s simpatico. It’s like somebody who kind of gets you without having to say a lot of words,鈥 Storey said in a telephone interview.
鈥淚t鈥檚 doubly a聽kind of confidence that the church is in really good hands.鈥
Allen Jr. wrote that Pope Leo is someone who comes off as competent without seeming arrogant and, as such, was complimented by the Italian press as 鈥渢he least American of the Americans.鈥
But he remains a man of the cloth, a preacher of the Bible, and a follower of the rules laid out in its onion-skin pages.
The that he delivered a 2012 address to bishops that decried western media and culture that promoted homosexual lifestyles, same-sex adoption and other 鈥渂eliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel.鈥
In 2016, he spoke out in opposition to the teaching of gender ideology in Peruvian elementary schools arguing that it was 鈥渃onfusing鈥 for children who had not yet reached the stage of sexual development and 鈥渂ecause it seeks to create genders that don鈥檛 exist,鈥 Correo, a Peruvian news outlet, at the time. 鈥淭rying to confuse the ideas of nature will only harm families and individuals.鈥
As for adults, Prevost said: 鈥淲e must respect the dignity of every person, including the choices adults may have.鈥
Pope Leo might be expected to continue Pope Francis鈥檚 lead in opening up church positions to women and lay people.
Angelus News, a Catholic publication, a 2024 interview he gave praising Pope Francis鈥檚 decision in 2022 to name three women to influential Vatican posts. He said that allowing them to have input into the selection of bishops 鈥渃ontributes significantly to the process of discernment in looking for who we hope are the best candidates to serve the church in episcopal ministry.鈥
On another matter 鈥 sexual abuse by Catholic clergy 鈥 Pope Leo has faced harsh criticism.
In March, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) filed a formal complaint against then-cardinal Prevost for two cases of alleged mishandling of sexual abuse claims.
The first case involved a Chicago priest accused of abusing minors who had been under restrictions since 1991 but, in 2000, was permitted to live in a religious residence located near a Catholic elementary school.
The second cases involves allegations that he failed to properly investigate claims including by three Peruvian women who said they were abused by local priests.
SNAP wants the Catholic Church to enact a zero-tolerance policy for abusive priests and those who help cover up the crimes.
鈥淵ou can end the abuse crisis,鈥 the advocacy group said in a statement addressed to Pope Leo on Thursday. 鈥淭he only question is, will you?鈥
Ironically, Pope Leo聽was then-pope Francis鈥檚 pick to lead the Dicastery聽for聽Bishops in 2023 when Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet resigned his Vatican post following an allegation of sexual misconduct, a claim that the 80-year-old Quebecer, who remains a cardinal but was too old to vote in the conclave, strenuously denied.
He was asked back then about the main challenges facing the Catholic Church. Lord knows, there were many he could have chosen from and he acknowledged that the problems were different from one country to the next, one continent to the next.
People react as newly elected Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd from St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time on Thursday.
Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty ImagesAnd now they will all be looking to Chicago-born Peruvian citizen who speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese, along with a little Latin and German.
“He’s like a servant of the world,” Storey said. “So whether he was born in Asia or born in India or born in Chicago is sort of irrelevant. He is a person that has a world view聽that is global and that’s really what the church needs.”
