VATICAN—Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected by the 133-member Conclave as the 267th Bishop of Rome — new Pope of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. He will assume the name, Pope Leo XIV.
From the central loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica, his first words to the thousands of faithful people who gathered awaiting the announcement were, “Peace be with all of you!”
Of the 266 popes who have led the Catholic Church, not one of them has been from the United States. Pope Leo XIV, 69, was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, He entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) in 1977 and made his solemn vows in 1981.
“I join the millions of Americans around the country in celebrating the selection of a new pope,” U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) provided in a statement to the Lynnwood Times. “Pope Francis had a message to the world: all of us must help lift the most vulnerable up. Pope Leo XIV — the first American pope — has my prayers for strength as he leads the Catholic Church.”
Pope Leo XIV is the first Augustinian Pope and the second Roman Pontiff from the Americas after Pope Francis of Argentina. He has spent the bulk of his adult life in Italy and Peru before being elected head of the Augustinian religious order for two terms.
Pope Leo XIV earned a Degree in Mathematics and also studied Philosophy in 1977 from Villanova University in Pennsylvania. On September 1 of the same year, he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.) in Saint Louis, in the Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Chicago, and made his first profession on September 2, 1978. On August 29, 1981, he made his solemn vows.
He received his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and was ordained a priest in Rome on June 19, 1982, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica.
Pope Francis appointed Prevost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023, a powerful position responsible for selecting bishops, a position he held until Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025. On September 30, 2023, Pope Francis elevated Prevost to the rank of Cardinal.
According to the College of Cardinals, Prevost “supported Pope Francis’ change in pastoral practice to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion. Prevost appears somewhat less favorable to currying favor with the LGBTQ lobby.”
The Order of St. Augustine was founded in 1244. It follows the Rule of St. Augustine, based on the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo, emphasizing community life, prayer, and service.
Members of the Order of St. Augustine are known as Augustinian Friars who take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Augustinian Friars focus on preaching, education, and missionary work. The most notable Augustine was Martin Luther, a German monk who led the Protestant Reformation.
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Author: Mario Lotmore
One Response
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