Patricia Matias

The Roman Catholic Church Welcomed the 1st American Pope, Pope Leo XIV

Get to Know Robert Francis Prevost, Now Referred to as Pope Leo XIV, the First American Pope

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<div style="text-align:center"></div><p style="text-align:left">Habemus Papam! On the second day of the Papal Conclave, on May 8, 2025, white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel, and the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City rang for the new pope, <strong>Robert Francis Prevost</strong> from Chicago, Illinois. </p><p style="text-align:left">All smiles in front of the people cheering in St. Peter’s Square, he appeared from St. Peter’s Basilica’s balcony for the first time, taking the papal name <strong>Pope Leo XIV</strong>. “Peace be with all of you,” he told the crowd. Following the death of Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV is now the 267th successor of St. Peter as the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, making history as the first ever pope from the United States of America.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-3" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZo2KrsBHO/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=503&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A3%2C%22os%22%3A197191.80000001192%2C%22ls%22%3A22659.30000001192%2C%22le%22%3A23132%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-3" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">He was born on September 14, 1955 to French and Italian father Marius Prevost and Spanish mother Mildred Martinez. </p><p style="text-align:left">He studied at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers and later at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics degree and also studied Philosophy.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-5" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJZqbKpKm8s/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=503&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A5%2C%22os%22%3A259153.59999999404%2C%22ls%22%3A22659.30000001192%2C%22le%22%3A23132%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-5" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">Pope Leo XIV had his theological education from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and was sent to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas at the age of 27.</p><p style="text-align:left">On June 19, 1982, in Rome, he was ordained as a priest at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica by Archbishop Jean Jadot. After getting his licentiate in 1984, he was sent for an Augustinian mission to Chulucanas, Piura, Peru, while preparing for his doctoral thesis, “The Role of the Local Prior in the Order of Saint Augustine.” </p><p style="text-align:left">He was appointed as a vocation director, then missions director, and later on elected as the Provincial Prior of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Olympia Fields, Illinois. He became Prior General two and a half years later.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-11" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZwikyARxK/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=503&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A11%2C%22os%22%3A332834.3000000119%2C%22ls%22%3A22659.30000001192%2C%22le%22%3A23132%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-11" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">On November 3, 2014, the late Pope Francis appointed him as the Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo. Four days later, he entered the Diocese in the presence of Apostolic Nuncio James Patrick Green, who, over a month later, ordained him as bishop.</p><p style="text-align:left">He has quite an extensive experience in leadership, and many believe he has the skills and heart to lead the Church. On September 26, 2015, Pope Francis appointed him as Bishop of Chiclayo, and in March of 2018, he was elected second vice-president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference. In 2019, Pope Francis appointed him as a member of the Congregation for the Clergy, and in 2020, he was also appointed as a member of the Congregation for Bishops. On April 15, 2020, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Callao.</p><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-13" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJZ5yIgMTU7/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=503&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A13%2C%22os%22%3A376734.6999999881%2C%22ls%22%3A22659.30000001192%2C%22le%22%3A23132%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-13" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">On January 30, 2023, Pope Francis summoned him to Rome to become the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, making him Archbishop. </p><p style="text-align:left">In September of 2024, Pope Francis made him a cardinal and assigned him the Diaconate of Saint Monica.</p><p style="text-align:left">On February 6, 2025, Pope Leo XIV was granted the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano by the Argentine Pope. He also led the prayer and Rosary for Pope Francis’ health in St. Peter’s Square last March 3.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-9" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZsSpqSlGy/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=503&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A9%2C%22os%22%3A311383.3000000119%2C%22ls%22%3A22659.30000001192%2C%22le%22%3A23132%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-9" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">Many said kind things about Pope Leo XIV, and they have no doubt he will lead the Roman Catholic Church well. “I think the very fact that in his heart, in his very soul, he wanted to be a missionary. He didn’t want the bishop. He didn’t want the cardinal, but that’s what he’s asked to do, so that’s what he did,” his brother, John Prevost, said in an interview.</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">Lead photo from <strong>@vaticannews</strong></p><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div></div>

<p>Know more about the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope.</p>

Know more about the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope.

All About Robert Francis Prevost, Now Known as Pope Leo XIV, the First American Pope

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All About Robert Francis Prevost, Now Known as Pope Leo XIV, the First American Pope

Tricia Matias

Published May 09, 2025 02:30 PM PHT

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Updated May 09, 2025 02:57 PM PHT

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