Behold, Pope Leo XIV!

VATICAN CITY – Cardinal Robert Prevost has been chosen by the world’s Catholic cardinals to serve as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church, taking the papal name Pope Leo XIV.

Aged 69 and originally from Chicago with French-Italian parentage, Prevost spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and became a cardinal only in 2023. Known for his loyalty to his predecessor, Pope Francis, he has given few media interviews.

As Pope Leo XIV, he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and took his solemn vows in 1981. He holds a bachelor’s in mathematics from Villanova University, a Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and both a licentiate and doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. This strong academic background has supported his rise through the Church.

Pope Leo XIV is the first pope from the United States and a relative unknown on the global stage. His first words as Pope being, “Peace be unto you all”, Catholics and other global watchers express hope for conflict-stricken areas of the world.

• With reporting from Reuters