Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States has been elected the 267th pope and has stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica as the new leader of the world\u2019s 1.4 billion Catholics. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s now known as Pope Leo XIV. <\/p>\n
Prevost, 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is the first ever pope from the United States. <\/p>\n
In his first words as pope, a visibly emotional Leo said to the crowd in St. Peter\u2019s Square: \u201cPeace be with you all.\u201d <\/p>\n
Addressing the crowd in St. Peter\u2019s Square, Leo paid tribute to the late pontiff Francis, urging the crowd to remember his predecessor\u2019s legacy before outlining his vision for the Catholic Church. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to seek together to be a missionary church. A church that builds bridges and dialogue,\u201d he said. Speaking in Italian to thousands of Catholic faithful, Leo called on people to \u201cshow our charity\u201d to others \u201cand be in dialog with love.\u201d <\/p>\n
Leo was chosen just two days after a group of 133 Cardinals gathered in conclave to select a new pontiff. <\/p>\n
That timeline matches the previous two gatherings, suggesting that Prevost quickly impressed his peers during the secretive process. <\/p>\n
Francis and Benedict XVI were both revealed in the evening of the conclave\u2019s second day, while John Paul II, the longest-reigning pope of modern times, was selected on the third day in 1978. <\/p>\n
A leader with global experience, Prevost spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Francis\u2019 reforms. <\/p>\n
Prevost worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023. In 2015, he also received Peruvian citizenship. <\/p>\n
The new pontiff is a member of the Augustinian religious order \u2013 which he also led for more than a decade as their prior general, which has given him leadership experience of leading an order spread across the world. <\/p>\n
Considered a highly capable and accomplished leader, Prevost most recently led the powerful Vatican office for new bishop appointments, the Dicastery for Bishops, assessing candidates and making recommendations to the late pope. He also served as the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. <\/p>\n
While it is often said cardinal electors would always shy away from choosing a pope from the US, due to America\u2019s outsized global political influence, Prevost\u2019s long experience in Peru may have mitigated those fears among the electors. <\/p>\n
Allen added that he is seen as an apt leader in Vatican circles because \u201che\u2019s able to accomplish things without necessarily being authoritarian about the way he did things.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cPrevost is somebody who is seen as an exceptional leader. From very young, he was appointed to leadership roles,\u201d Allen said. \u201cHe\u2019s seen as somebody who is calm and balanced, who is even-handed, and who is very clear on what he thinks needs to be done\u2026 but he\u2019s not overly forceful in trying to make that happen.\u201d <\/p>\n
Prevost earned his bachelor\u2019s in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and went on receive his diploma in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. <\/p>\n
He was later sent to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University and was ordained as a priest in June 1982. Later in his career, he taught canon law in the seminary in Trujillo, Peru. <\/p>\n
In an interview with Vatican News shortly after he became the leader of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost said: \u201cI still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is.\u201d <\/p>\n
The coming days are for celebration; Leo\u2019s name will be uttered in homilies and masses across the Catholic world, and will spark particularly joyous scenes in his home country. Adding to festivities, and to the new pope\u2019s diary commitments, is the fact that 2025 is a jubilee year for the church \u2013 a special celebration announced by Pope John Paul II 25 years ago, which sees a busy schedule of Vatican-organized events. <\/p>\n
But leading the largest Christian denomination through an unpredictable era will require difficult and consequential decisions. The new pope inherits a church whose image and ambitions were transformed by its predecessor; Francis pulled the priorities of the church away from social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gender roles and contraception, advocating instead for the world\u2019s poor, displaced and needy, and instilling a mission anchored in altruism. <\/p>\n
Whether or not to continue that trajectory will be a defining choice for the new pontiff. Francis\u2019 rejection of opulence and his softer tone on social issues was praised by some Western leaders, but there remains a faction in the church advocating for a stricter line on questions of sex, gender, marriage and migration. <\/p>\n
Asked about the contributions of three women who were made members of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost told Vatican News: \u201cI think their appointment is more than just a gesture on the part of the Pope to say that there are now women here, too. There is a real, genuine, and meaningful participation that they offer at our meetings when we discuss the dossiers of candidates.\u201d <\/p>\n
He must also choose carefully when to intervene on the world stage. Francis became increasingly political in the final years of his papacy, making the case for the rights of migrants, urging a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and suggesting \u2013 to the ire of Kyiv \u2013 that Ukraine should wave \u201cthe white flag\u201d and make concessions to end Russia\u2019s war in the country. <\/p>\n
These ongoing conflicts, and the rise of populism and authoritarianism around the world, set a complicated context in which the new pope \u2013 himself an important figure in global diplomacy \u2013 will operate. <\/p>\n
And he must deal with crises from within, too. Francis\u2019 failure to bring a close to the years-long scandal of child sexual abuse in the church will also reverberate through his successor\u2019s papacy. Though he spoke defensively about his record on the matter, and took some important steps to tackle systemic issues involving abuse, the previous pope was accused by survivors\u2019 groups of failing to hold accountable bishops and cardinals accused of covering up abuse. <\/p>\n
Previously addressing the responsibility of combating clerical abuse, Prevost told Vatican News: \u201cThere are places where good work has already been done for years and the rules are being put into practice. At the same time, I believe that there is still much to learn.\u201d <\/p>\n
Last year, Francis\u2019 commission for child protection said in its first report that parts of the church are still failing to ensure that abuse is properly reported, and raised concerns about a \u201clack of transparency\u201d in how the Vatican handled cases. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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