Our Holy Father: Pope Leo XIV

On May 8, 2026, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, became the first American in the history of the Catholic Church to be selected as pope, choosing the name Leo XIV. 

Born September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Pope Leo XIV is one of three sons born to Louis Marius Prevost, who is of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martinez, who is of Spanish descent. His father was a WWII Navy veteran and school superintendent. His mother was a librarian, who was active in the church. Pope Leo grew up in Dolton, a suburb of Chicago, and his family were members of St. Mary of Assumption Parish located in Chicago's south side. There, he was an altar boy and attended elementary school.

He graduated from Villanova University in Pennsylvania with a degree in mathematics in 1977 and entered the Novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine that same year. He then received a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago before being sent to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University (also known as the Angelicum). He was ordained to the priesthood at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica in Rome in 1982.

Pope Leo XIV spent much of his career as a missionary serving in South America. After receiving his licentiate from the university, he was sent to the mission of Chulucanas in Piura, Peru. From there, he served at the mission of Trujillo as director of the joint formation project for Augustinian candidates from three vicariates. He continued to minister in the Archdiocese of Trujillo until 1998, serving in several capacities including judicial vicar and as a professor at the major seminary.

In 1999, he returned to the United States after being elected provincial prior of the Augustinian Province of "Mother of Good Counsel" in Chicago, and two and a half years later, he was elected prior general, serving as the head of the Order of Saint Augustine until 2013.

He returned to the Augustinian Province in Chicago in October 2013, serving as director of formation at the Saint Augustine Convent, but a year later, Pope Francis appointed then-Father Prevost to be apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, and Titular Bishop of Sufar. He was ordained a bishop on December 12, 2014, on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He was then appointed bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo in September 2015. 

While still serving in Peru, Pope Francis named then-Bishop Prevost as a member of the Dicastery for the Clergy in 2019 and the Dicastery for Bishops in 2020. In 2023, Pope Francis called then-Bishop Prevost to Rome to lead the Dicastery for Bishops. He was also named president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He was first elevated to be an archbishop and then was created a cardinal in September of that year.

Pope Leo XIV became a citizen of Peru in 2015 and has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru. He speaks English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. 

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