Habemus Papum!
Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, the 133 cardinals — the church’s highest-ranking clergy — gathered to elect a new pope for the Catholic Church in the secret conclave in Rome.
On Thursday afternoon local time, white smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel and the bells of St Peter’s Basilica rang out, signifying the cardinals had elected a new pope. The cardinals cast at least four ballots at the Vatican before a cardinal received at least two-thirds of the vote.
Over an hour after the white smoke emerged, the new pope, clad in his papal vestments, stepped onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica and greeted the world. Our new Pope was Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, born September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States of America.
In September 1977, Prevost joined the Order of Saint Augustine and lived in St Louis, Missouri. He was sent to Rome to study and became a priest in 1982 at the age of 27. He went on to earn a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical College of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Prevost joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985. In 1987, he returned to the US to work as vocational director for the Augustinian Provinces of Illinois and Wisconsin. He returned to Peru in 1988 where he taught Canon Law at the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo for many years and served as a judge in the regional ecclesiastical court. He was instrumental in the Augustinians’ efforts to convince Peruvians to become priests in the order.
In 1998 Prevost was elected as Provincial Prior of the Augustinian order in Chicago and was then elected Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine in 2001. He served two six-year terms until 2013. From 2013 to 2014, Prevost was director of formation at the Convent of St. Augustine in Chicago.
In 2014, Pope Francis picked Prevost to be the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru and in 2015 was appointed as Bishop. Due to a diplomatic treaty, Prevost became a naturalised Peruvian citizen before becoming bishop.
Pope Francis made Prevost a cardinal in 2023. Before becoming pope, Prevost, who is 69, was the head of the church’s Dicastery for Bishops, meaning he oversaw the selection of new bishops.
Cardinal Prevost chose the papal name Leo, one of the more popular choices in history, which has been used by 13 previous popes. The most recent one, Pope Leo XIII, served from 1878 to 1903. Leo XIII was known for his work on social justice and Catholic Social Teaching, particularly workers rights.
Fun facts about Pope Leo:
- Pope Leo is the First American Pope
- He is also the first Peruvian Pope (due to his Peruvian citizenship)
- Pope Leo likes to play Wordle!
- He has a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania
- Pope Leo met Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis (and has photos to prove this!)
- His birthday is the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (April 21)
- Pope Leo’s favourite sport is tennis.
- His native language is English, but he speaks several languages including Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese and he can read German and Latin.
- Pope Leo is the youngest of 3 boys.
- His Dad, Louis Prevost, worked as a Navy Lieutenant and his Mom, Mildred Martinez Prevost, ran the local parish and worked in the library.
- Due to his mother working for the parish he grew up surrounded by priests.
- He is a Chicago White Sox fan! Video of him at the World Series Final in 2005 is currently going viral on social media.
- Young Robert Prevost was the smartest boy in his class. He was a member of the National Honour Society and a participant in speech and debate.
- At high school he was an editor-in-chief for his school yearbook.
- His first words as Pope to the crowds were “Peace be with all of you!”
