Robert Francis Prevostelected Pope Leone XIVis the first North American Pope chosen by a conclave and the First Augustinian pontiff in history. Born in Chicago In the 1955entered the Augustinian order as a teenager and in 1982 he was ordained a priest. Since then, he has divided his life between the United States and PeruA country in which he lived for many years and of which he owns citizenship. In 2023 Francesco called him to Rome and appointed Cardinal. Just elected he chose to Call Leoneprobably in homage to Lion XIIIthe Pope who in the end of the nineteenth century issued the Rerum novarumthe first encyclical dedicated to the social question.
Prevost is considered a moderate progressive: does not accept great changes in the doctrine and in the “management” of the Church, but is deployed on opening positions on social issues such as the migration And for this he found himself in contrast with the Trump administration.
Biography of the new Pope: Robert Prevost’s origins and studies
Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago on September 14, 1955 And he spent his childhood in the A Drewin the city hinterland. Belongs to a Multiethnic family: Father Louis Marius had Italian and French origins, mother Mildred Martinez was of Spanish origin. As a teenager Robert entered a seminar of Augustinian friars And in 1973 he obtained his diploma. Later, he graduated in Mathematics from the Villanova University in Filadelfia. In 1982 he was ordained a priest.
Who are the Augustinians
Robert Francis Prevost is the First Augustinian Pope in the history of the Catholic Church. The Augustinians are members of theOrder of Sant’Agostino, Founded in 1246, and are based on humility and on a strong spirituality that emphasizes the interiority and the search for truth. They are inspired by the teachings of Sant’Agostino d’Appona, the iv century Christian theologian and philosopher.
The order is dedicated to community lifeto prayer, study and preaching, promoting the charitythe justice And love for God and for others, which transmit in various countries of the world with education, mission and pastoral care.
Prevost missionary in Peru
In 1985 Robert Prevost arrived for the first time in a country that would become his second home: Peru. His superiors of the Augustinian order assigned him to the mission of the diocese of chulucanassuffragana of the Archdiocese of Piura.
Prevost remained in Peru until the following year, later he obtained a doctorate at the San Tommaso d’Aquino University and returned shortly to the United States. In 1988 he moved to Peru again: he was appointed director of the Agostinian seminar of Trujillo And he remained in the Latin American country for ten years, until 1998. Returning to the United States, he had a career in the Augustinian order: he was appointed provincial father of Chicago and in 2001 he became prior generala sort of “head” of the order. He held the assignment for two six -year mandates, until 2013.
The career of Prevost in the Church and the arrival in Rome
In 2014 Prevost obtained the Appointment to Bishop And he returned to Peru as an apostolic administrator, and later Bishop, of the diocese of chiclayo. It remained at the helm of the diocese until 2023, also assuming the position of vice president of the Peruvian episcopal conference. In 2023 Francesco called him to Rome, appointing him Cardinal and entrusting him with important positions in the Roman Curia: prefect of Dicastery for the bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Last March, Prevost was accused by an American association of having covered sexual abuse On minors both in Chicago and in Peru. The accusations, however, were not proven.
Because Prevost chose Leone as a pontifical name
Robert Prevost was elected Pope on May 8, 2025 at fourth ballot of the conclave. On the eve of the vote, it was not considered one of the “most eligible”. Journalistic indiscretions want it to be elected because the favorite, Pietro Parolinwithdrawn his candidacy when he realized that he did not have the necessary votes and that he risked creating a fracture in the church. What is certain is that, just elected, Cardinal Prevost has chosen to be called Leo XIV.
Many argue that this choice represents an act of continuity with respect to the last pontiff with this name, Leo XIIIin office from 1878 to 1903, known for his commitment on social issues. In 1891 he issued the encyclical Rerum novarumwho focused on the conditions of the workers, condemning socialism and revolutionary perspectives, but also affirming the need for the working conditions to improve and that the masters dencely dealt with their employees. Starting from the Rerum novarum the social doctrine of the Church And the associations of Catholic workers has strengthened.
In his first speech as Pope, however, Leone XIV has repeatedly invoked world peace, but has not referred to social issues.
The political positions of Leone XIV and relations with the Trump administration
The new pope is considered a moderate progressiverather close to Bergoglio. On doctrinary issues it was shown Little available to radical changes: he expressed himself against the idea that women access the priesthood and took on a location not very defined on the eventuality of “Admit” homosexuals in the Church: although in the past he had clearly expressed himself against the “beliefs and practices that contradict the Gospel”, in 2023 he chose to do not support or refuse the declaration confidence plea (with which the Holy See has opened to the possibility of blessing people who are part of homosexual couples). In fact, he claimed that the individual episcopal conferences must interpret the document taking into account the context in which they operate. Instead, he did not express himself on the question of ecclesiastical celibacy.
On other themes, Leo XIV appears to have ideas similar to those of Francesco, and therefore found himself disagreed with the administration of Donald Trump. On the question of migrationwe did not scruple to criticize the political choices of the President (who, as we know, started a deportation plan of migrants) and last February he shared a letter from Francesco on his social networks who He criticized some statements by the vice -president JD Vance.
Also on environmental issues Leone XIV supports positions similar to those of Francesco, who had clearly deployed in favor of the fight against climate change.
Moreover, it does not appear that the new pontiff is in direct contact with Donald Trump, nor has he found confirmation the indiscretion according to which the American president would have made a donation to the Holy See to influence the conclave. Trump expressed satisfaction for the election of an American Popebut as previously said Leone XIV is deployed on positions rather different from his and, according to some analysts, he was elected precisely to counter the hegemonic project of the American administration with the values of Christianity. Only time will tell us what will be the concrete acts of the Pontiff and his relationships with the powerful of the world.
