Who is Robert Prevost, the Cardinal who became Pope Leo XIV?

Friday, 9 May 2025

Robert Prevost has been elected the first North American leader of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, in a surprising and historic result.

Pope Leo, 69, has broken the long-held taboo that an American could never be pope – the thinking used to be that the US was the world’s only superpower and had more than enough geopolitical influence, without taking over the papacy as well.

The appointment was welcomed by Donald Trump, the US president, who posted on social media: “I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

Pope Leo has now become the 267th pontiff after the death of Pope Francis, who was the first Latin American pontiff, on Easter Monday.

There is not much known about the new Pope – he has given few media interviews and rarely speaks in public.

However, in 2023, he told a Vatican press conference: “Our work is to enlarge the tent and to let everyone know they are welcome inside the Church.”

It was a message very much in keeping with the tenor of Francis’s 12-year pontificate.

The Chicago-born Pope Leo has an impressive CV. He spent years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.

He is seen as a reformer in the mould of Pope Francis. The Argentinian pontiff sent him to run the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014.

He held that position until 2023, when Francis brought him to Rome to be head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, which selects many of the world’s bishops.

The Pope was also president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a job that kept him in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in a region of the world that still counts the most Catholics.

Although he kept a low profile in Rome, he was part of one of the most significant reforms undertaken by Francis – three women were added to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to put forward to the pope.

He apparently appealed to his brother cardinals because of his quiet style and support for Francis, as well as his commitment to social justice issues.

Before his election, it was thought that his comparative youth could count against him because cardinals would not want to elect a pope whose reign could last for two decades or more. These concerns were evidently dismissed by a two-thirds majority of cardinal electors, who have given the Catholic Church the first pontiff from the US.

The 69-year-old new pontiff emerged on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica just over an hour after white smoke billowed from a chimney installed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, the signal that 133 cardinal electors had chosen a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.

“Peace be with you all,” he told the tens of thousands of faithful who had rushed into St Peter’s Square after the white smoke emerged.

Dominique Mamberti, a French cardinal, announced the appointment of the Pope with the time-honoured Latin words “Habemus Papam” (We have a pope).

Thomas Reese, an American Jesuit priest and author of Inside the Vatican, told The Telegraph: “It’s a big surprise. It shows that the Latin American cardinals were united behind him and pushed his election as pope.

“They see him as one of their own because he was a priest and a bishop in Latin America and spent many, many years there. He is not just an American, he is a pope for all of the Americas.

“He is known as being pastoral, being good at listening. I think he will be in continuity with Pope Francis.”

Asked whether it was unexpected for an American to be elected, Father Reese said: “Oh yeah, shocking.”

A Vatican insider said: “He was not one of the obvious candidates, but he knows everybody, he spent 30 years as a missionary, he has languages.

“His time in Peru means he is one of the least ‘American’ of the American cardinals. But he understands America and he can speak to the country, which is important in the Trump era.”

‘Voice of wisdom in a fractured world’

Christine Allen, the director of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, said: “Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Provost, will be a voice of wisdom in a fractured and divided world, as he continues the important work of leading the Church in the world and providing spiritual and moral guidance to the global community.

“Having spent years in Peru, Pope Leo XIV brings with him the vital perspective of the Global South, elevating voices from the margins to centre stage.

“Now more than ever, the world needs a strong and steadfast moral voice that can draw attention to the most important issues in our world: the crippling debt crisis which prevents low-income countries from spending on health and education for their people; the climate crisis and the conflicts blighting our world.

“This election reflected a global Church, with cardinals from every corner of the world voting – bringing a broader outlook to addressing today’s global issues.”