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Born in the North, shaped by the South.
The new pope is American. No, not this one:
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States was elected pope on May 8, becoming the first North American to lead the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics. He will be known as Pope Leo XIV, the 267th pontiff in history.
White smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday, signaling that the College of Cardinals had reached a decision on the second day of the conclave. The 69-year-old Prevost later appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to offer his first blessing as pope.
Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955 and spent much of his early life with the Augustinian order. Ordained in 1982, he later earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. His early ministry included extensive time in Peru, where he worked as a parish priest, seminary educator, and administrator from 1985 to 1998. He eventually became a naturalized Peruvian citizen in 2015.
Within the Augustinians, he rose to the order’s top post, serving as Prior General from 2001 to 2013. In 2014, Pope Francis appointed him to lead the Diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru. Prevost became a cardinal in 2023 and was tapped to lead the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, two of the most influential appointments in the Roman Curia.
His appointment by Pope Francis as prefect for bishops elevated his visibility in Rome and, following the latter’s death, positioned him as one of the leading candidates in the 2025 conclave.
Prevost has also come under fire from groups representing survivors of clergy abuse. During his leadership of the Augustinian order and in Peru, he has been criticized for how he handled sexual abuse allegations. The advocacy group SNAP has alleged that he did not take action on long-standing accusations against Richard McGrath, the former president of Providence Catholic High School in Illinois, allowing McGrath to remain in office despite the abuse claims.
Despite this, Prevost was elected in under 48 hours, reflecting a broad consensus among the 133 voting cardinals. Pope Leo XIV assumes the papacy at a time of ongoing debate within the Church over decentralization, clerical accountability, and its relationship with secular society. His deep ties to Latin America, legal training, and decades of religious leadership are expected to shape how he navigates those challenges from the Vatican. — WALPHS.com
↗️ READ: Pope Francis dies aged 88