On May 8, 2025, Cardinal Robert Prevost was appointed the new Pontiff and assumed the name Pope Leo XIV in honor of Pope Leo XII. He was born in Chicago, Illinois to Spanish and Franco-Italian parents, making him the first United States-born pope. Upon his election, the Vatican described him as the second pope from the Americas, second to his predecessor, Pope Francis, who was from Argentina.
In his early years, he served as an altar boy until he was ordained in 1982 and was assigned to a parish in Perú in 1985. He spent 10 years as a local pastor and as a seminary instructor in Trujillo in northwestern Perú.
In 2019, former Pope Francis appointed Prevost as a member of the Dicastery for the Clergy, where he focused on matters related to priests and pastoral ministries. Later in 2020, Francis appointed him as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops, making him well known amongst other cardinals. In 2023, Prevost became an archbishop and within a few months he became Cardinal Robert Prevost.
On May 9, Pope Leo XIV led his first mass at the Vatican where he outlined visions of a Church committed to bridging different communities, describing the Church as a beacon that will illuminate the darkest nights. He has previously expressed progressive views aligning with those of the late pope, who advocated for underprivileged and underserved communities.
Pope Leo has previously spoken out on political matters regarding women’s role in the Church. During his time as a bishop, Francis appointed him to oversee revolutionary reforms, where he appointed three women into the Dicastery for Bishops, who participated in voting for the first time. He stated that women “can add a great deal to the life of the church on many different levels.” However, similar to his predecessors, Prevost believes that ordaining or “clericalizing women” will create new problems for the Church.
The new pope has expressed reservations about LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Church. In 2012, he voiced his disapproval of “alternative families composed of same-sex partners and their adopted children.” During his tenure as a bishop in Perú, he opposed government efforts to incorporate gender studies in public school curriculum, stating that promoting gender ideology creates “genders that do not exist.”
During his first Sunday address, Pope Leo called upon world leaders and urged for “no more war.” In his speech, he called for lasting peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. He shared his grief over the deaths in the Gaza strip and called for the removal of all barriers to the flow of food, medicine and essential supplies to the Palestinian enclave. He appealed for all prisoners in Ukraine to be freed and all children to return to their families. He further urged world leaders to renounce the paradigm of war. The political views of the new pope remain ambiguous, with his official inauguration set for May 18.
