For the first time in history, an American has been elected as Pope.
The idea of an American pope has often been dismissed, even by theologians in the United States in the run-up to this week’s conclave. So few expected Robert Prevost to walk out onto the balcony at the Vatican as the new head of the Catholic Church.
And yet, on Thursday the Chicago-born cardinal-bishop, known by friends as “Bob,” made history after becoming the 267th pope – the first time in the Church’s 2,000-year history that an American has been appointed to lead it.
Prevost – who has joint Peruvian citizenship and spent years living and working in the South American country – has chosen to be known as Leo XIV. As Bishop of Chicago, the 69-year-old pontiff once oversaw the largest Archdiocese in North America.
Prior to his election, many observers had questioned him as a candidate, due to his relatively young age and inexperience. Some speculated that cardinals would also wish to select a European, following 12 years of tenure by Pope Francis – an Argentinian – and considered it unlikely a pontiff would emerge from the U.S.
The Reverend James Bretzke, a theology professor at John Carroll University in Ohio, told USA Today this week that a diplomat was required to replace Pope Francis, adding: “America’s image in the world simply is too powerful − and to be blunt, ugly.”
Vatican insiders had described Prevost as a “dark horse” candidate who quietly rose to prominence in the days just before the conclave, having been made a cardinal-bishop in February this year. In terms of leading the Catholic Church, he has been described as a “dignified middle of the road” leader, compared with Francis, who was considered a progressive pontiff, and more conservative alternatives.
Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope.
In early 2025, Francis again demonstrated his esteem by appointing Prevost to the most senior rank of cardinals.
He has championed the importance of on-the-ground work. In a 2023 interview with Vatican News, he said: “One must not give in to the temptation to live isolated, separated in a palace, satisfied with a certain social level or a certain level within the church.”
He added: “The authority we have is to serve, to accompany priests, to be pastors and teachers.”
However, Prevost has also expressed less progressive stances, including more negative views of the LGBT community.
According to The New York Times, in an address to bishops in 2012, Prevost bemoaned the fact that western media fostered “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,” pointing to the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”
While in South America, he told local media that “the promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist.”
He has also been criticized by survivors of child abuse.
In 1999, Prevost was elected provincial prior of the Midwest Augustinians. A year into the role, he allowed Father James Ray, a priest then accused of abusing minors whose ministry had been restricted since 1991, to reside at the Augustinians’ St. John Stone Friary in Chicago in 2000, despite its proximity to a Catholic elementary school.
When Prevost was Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, three victims reported to civil authorities in 2022 after there was no movement on their canonical case filed through the diocese, according to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
Victims have since claimed Prevost failed to open an investigation, sent inadequate information to Rome, and that the diocese allowed the priest to continue saying mass, attaching photos of the priest saying mass after their complaint to their letter. SNAP filed a complaint against Prevost on March 25, 2025.
Prior to his ascension to Holy Father, Prevost served as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, which handles various administrative and pastoral responsibilities of the Holy See, including vetting nominations for bishops around the world. Prevost was initially appointed a member of the Dicastery in 2020 before later becoming its head.
He also served as the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, where nearly 40 percent of the world’s Catholics reside.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955, Prevost grew up in the city’s south suburbs, where he lived in Dolton with his parents and two brothers.
Reports claimed he was a fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. The record, however, was set straight on Thursday – at least by his brother, who confirmed he had “always” been a White Sox fan.
Growing up, a steady stream of priests passed through his family home, and the youngster reportedly had a positive experience of parish life, serving as an altar boy and attending school in the St. Mary of the Assumption parish on the far South Side.
Former classmates shared how, even as a boy, he was “destined” to become pope.
“It was pretty apparent back then that was going to be his route,” former classmate John Doughney told the Chicago Sun-Times, speaking before Prevost was elected.
“For him, I think it was a true calling,” Doughney said. “And, even as a young teenager, he knew what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go.”
Others recalled a “sense of humor” in class.
“He was kind of a little trickster, too,” Joseph Merigold, who used to sit near Prevost in class, said. “Used to poke me in the back of the head with a pencil all the time because I was a kidder. So he definitely had a sense of humor that a lot of people wouldn’t know because he wasn’t really that outgoing.”
Merigold added that Prevost was “the smartest person in the class” and was in “the No.1 seat,” indicating his classroom performance.
Prevost was remembered as a good singer from the choir who “cared about people” and “looked for the good in things,” according to Marianne Angarola, who also grew up in Dolton and went to school with him.
“He was the pride and joy of every priest and nun in that school,” Angarola told The Chicago Tribune. “Everybody knew he was special.”
Prevost was sent to study canon law at the Angelicum in Rome and was ordained as a priest in the city in 1982. After completing his studies, he was invited to work in the Territorial Prelature of Chulucanas, in northwestern Peru, which held strong connections with the U.S. Augustinians.
In 1999, he was elected provincial prior of the Midwest Augustinians, and two years later, in 2001, he was elected prior general of the worldwide Augustinian order, a post he held for two six-year terms.
In 2014, he returned to northwestern Peru, after Francis named him apostolic administrator of the Chiclayo diocese.
The Rev. Fidel Purisaca Vigil, the communications director for the diocese in Chiclayo, recalled how the Prevost used to rise each day and have breakfast with his fellow priests after saying his prayers. “No matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy,” Purisaca said in an email to The Associated Press, following Prevost’s appointment.
After arriving in Rome, Prevost kept a low public profile, but was well known to the men who count.
Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope.
In early 2025, Francis again showed his esteem by appointing Prevost to the most senior rank of cardinals.
Prevost is an expert in canon law, a system that functions like a constitution and legal system specifically for the Catholic Church, affording him appeal to the more traditional wings of the Vatican.
However, it remains to be seen how he will respond to the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump, who posted his congratulations on his social media platform Truth Social after the announcement that Prevost was Pope.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country,” Trump wrote. “I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Earlier this year, Prevost publicly voiced opposition to remarks by Vice President JD Vance on the theological concept of “ordo amoris.”
“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” Prevost wrote on X.
Prevost’s latest post on X was a repost of an account criticizing the Trump administration’s policy on immigrant deportations.
Additional reporting by Rhian Lubin