The Roman Catholic Church has its first American pope.
Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected to succeed Pope Francis on Thursday, according to ABC. His selection came on day two of the Vatican conclave.
CNN reported that Prevost, 69, of Chicago has taken the name Pope Leo XIV.
After multiple years as a missionary in South America, Prevost most recently led the Dicastery for Bishops, which selects the church’s bishops.
BREAKING: Cardinal Robert Prevost is the new Pope as Pope Leo XIV.
He’s a Chicago native, and just became the first American Pope. pic.twitter.com/podJe0C6GB
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 8, 2025
Prevost spent a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and later was bishop of Chiclayo, Peru.
Prevost is a member of the Augustinian order, which he led for a decade.
“He’s somebody that, even though he’s from the West, would be very attentive to the needs of a global church,” said Elise Allen, a Vatican analyst. “You’re talking about somebody who spent over half of his ecclesial career abroad as a missionary in Peru.”
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“Prevost is somebody who is seen as an exceptional leader. From very young, he was appointed to leadership roles,” Allen said. “He’s seen as somebody who is calm and balanced, who is even-handed, and who is very clear on what he thinks needs to be done … but he’s not overly forceful in trying to make that happen.”
Prevost graduated from Villanova University and the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.
When asked about the abuse scandal that has hit the church, Prevost told a recent interviewer, “There are places where good work has already been done for years and the rules are being put into practice. At the same time, I believe that there is still much to learn.”
In a report issued prior to his selection as Pope Loe, The New York Times quoted Rev. Michele Falcone, 46, a priest in the Order of St. Augustine, as saying Prevost represented a “dignified middle of the road.”
The Times noted that in an interview, Prevost said, “The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom.”
He said, a leader in a church is “called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them.”
“He does not have excesses,” Falcone said of Prevost. “Blessing babies, yes. Taking them in his arms, no.”
In a 2012 address to bishops, he touched on LGBT issues, castigating the media for showing “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel.”
He cited the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”
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