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-Editorial
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, an American-born prelate and former missionary to Peru, was elected as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the papal name Leo XIV. His election marks the first time in the Church’s 2,000-year history that a pope has hailed from the United States and North America.
Pope Leo XIV, 69, previously served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, one of the most influential positions in the Vatican, where he oversaw the appointment of bishops worldwide. He was also president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America since 2023. His rise to the papacy follows the death of Pope Francis, who appointed him to several key leadership roles within the Roman Curia.
Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, Robert Prevost began his religious life with the Order of Saint Augustine. He earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Villanova University and later a Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He made his first vows in the Augustinian order in 1978 and his solemn vows in 1981.
Prevost served as a missionary in Peru for over a decade, beginning in 1985, working as a parish pastor, diocesan official, and seminary administrator. He was elected prior general of the Augustinians in 2001, serving two terms until 2013. In 2015, he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, and became a naturalized Peruvian citizen the same year.
In 2023, Pope Francis elevated him to cardinal and later appointed him as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. In 2025, Prevost was promoted to cardinal-bishop and assigned the Suburbicarian Diocese of Albano, a move that further solidified his standing as a leading figure in the global Church.
Throughout his career, Pope Leo XIV faced scrutiny over his handling of clergy abuse cases. During his leadership of the Augustinian order, he permitted a suspended priest accused of sexual abuse to live at a friary near a Catholic school in Chicago without informing school officials. Additionally, he has been criticized by survivors’ advocacy groups for his alleged inaction in cases involving clergy in Peru and the United States.
Despite these controversies, Prevost was widely regarded as a serious and thoughtful church leader, particularly noted for his experience in Latin America and his administrative competence. His election is seen as a continuation of the internationalization of the papacy and a recognition of the growing importance of the Americas in the Catholic world.
Pope Leo XIV now assumes leadership of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics and the Vatican City State at a time of significant challenges, including declining church attendance in some regions, the ongoing need for clergy abuse reforms, and calls for modernization within the Church.