Who is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV and first American Pope?

Even earlier than his identify was introduced from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, the crowds under have been chanting “Viva il Papa” – Lengthy stay the Pope.

Robert Prevost, 69, would be the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter and he shall be often called Leo XIV.

He’s the primary American to fill the function of Pope, though he’s thought-about as a lot a cardinal from Latin America due to the numerous years he spent as a missionary in Peru, earlier than turning into a bishop there.

Born in Chicago in 1955 to folks of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Prevost served as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1982. Though he moved to Peru three years later, he returned recurrently to the US to function a pastor and a previous in his dwelling metropolis.

He has Peruvian nationality and is fondly remembered as a determine who labored with marginalised communities and helped construct bridges.

He spent 10 years as a neighborhood parish pastor and as a instructor at a seminary in Trujillo in northwestern Peru.

In his first phrases as Pope, Leo XIV spoke fondly of his predecessor Francis.

“We nonetheless hear in our ears the weak however all the time brave voice of Pope Francis who blessed us,” he stated.

“United and hand in hand with God, allow us to advance collectively,” he instructed cheering crowds.

He additionally spoke of his function within the Augustinian Order. He was 30 when he moved to Peru as a part of an Augustinian mission.

Francis made him Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru a 12 months after turning into Pope.

He’s well-known to cardinals due to his high-profile function as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Latin America which has the necessary activity of choosing and supervising bishops.

He turned archbishop on the identical time in January 2023 and inside just a few months Francis made him a cardinal.

As 80% of the cardinals who took half within the conclave have been appointed by Francis, it’s not all that stunning that somebody like Prevost was elected, even when he was solely lately appointed.

He shall be seen as a determine who favoured the continuity of Francis’ reforms within the Catholic Church.

Prevost is believed to have shared Francis’ views on migrants, the poor and the surroundings.

A former roommate of his, Reverend John Lydon, described Prevost to the BBC as “outgoing”, “all the way down to earth” and “very involved with the poor”.

Though Prevost is an American, and shall be absolutely conscious of the divisions throughout the Catholic Church, his Latin American background additionally represents continuity after a Pope who got here from Argentina.

The Vatican described him because the second pope from the Americas, after Pope Francis, in addition to the the primary Augustinian pope.

Throughout his time in Peru he has not escaped the sexual abuse scandals which have clouded the Church, nevertheless his diocese fervently denied he had been concerned in any tried cover-up.

Earlier than the conclave, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni stated that in gatherings of the Faculty of Cardinals within the days earlier than the conclave they emphasised the necessity for a pope with “a prophetic spirit able to main a Church that doesn’t shut in on itself however is aware of the right way to exit and convey mild to a world marked by despair”.