Who is Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope?

Pope Leo XIV, 69, was elected to take up the papal seat on Thursday, on the second day of the papal conclave’s deliberations. 

Born Robert Prevost on Sept. 14, 1955 in Chicago, Ill., he was a suspected front-runner to succeed Pope Francis after his passing late last month, though some reporting suggested his being an American could actually count against him due to concerns that the U.S. could further exert its geopolitical prowess through the religious leader. 

Leo XIV was first brought to the Vatican by Francis to serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023, which is one of the most important positions in the Catholic Church as it vets bishop nominations issued globally. 

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost of the U.S., appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, May 8, 2025.  (Reuters/Claudia Greco)

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Francis then elevated him to the position of Cardinal in September 2023. 

Leo was reported to be closely aligned to Francis’s teachings as leader of the Catholic Church, particularly when it came to his positions regarding the environment, outreach to the poor and migrants, and opening the Catholic Church to embrace more followers.

Before making it to the highest position afforded in the Catholic Church, he first entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in Saint Louis, in 1977, which essentially marked his period of training before he took his “holy orders.”

In August 1981, he gave his solemn vows, and by 1982 he was ordained as a priest.

By 1985 he joined the Augustinian mission in Peru, where he served as chancellor of the Territorial Prélature of Chulucanas for one year.

Pope Francis appoints as new cardinal U.S-born prelate prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, Robert Francis Prevost during the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of new Cardinal at St. Peter’s Square on September 30, 2023, in Vatican Cit. Pope Francis holds a consistory for the creation of 21 new cardinals, the consistory falls before the start of the Synod on Synodality, set to take place in October.  (Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

CARDINAL ROBERT PREVOST ANNOUNCED AS FIRST AMERICAN POPE, TAKING NAME LEO XIV

Between 1987 and 1988, he returned to the U.S., where he served as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago, before he returned to Peru for another 10 years to head the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo and teach Cannon Law. 

Eventually, he made his way back to his hometown, where, in 1999, he was elected provincial prior of the “Mother of Good Counsel” in Chicago.

Leo would go on to be elected twice as leader of the Augustinian religious order, a 13th century order founded by St. Augustine.

He had caught the attention of Francis, who, after becoming pope in 2013, moved Leo back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and eventually archbishop of Chiclayo.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, May 8, 2025.  (Reuters, Stoyan Nenov)

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Leo got his Peruvian citizenship in 2015, where he remained until he was moved to the Vatican in 2023. 

During his final years in Peru, Leo also served as vice-president of the permanent council of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference from 2018 to 2023, which likely helped him secure his role as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Francis. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.