MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US Cardinal Robert Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV

“It was a great pleasure for me to work in Peru,” Leo XIV said in Spanish

US Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost Martínez was elected Thursday as the new head of the Catholic Church to succeed the Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis). The new pontiff chose to be called Leo XIV. The first American pope, who belongs to the Order of St Augustine (OSA), also holds Peruvian citizenship after spending a large portion of his clergical life in the South American country.

Prevost was chosen after the fourth ballot in the Sistine Chapel, and the white fumata became visible at 6.06 pm local time, followed by the traditional “Habemus Papam” (We have a Pope) announcement.

Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago to a mother of Spanish descent, Prevost entered the OSA in 1977, taking solemn vows in 1981 and being ordained a priest in 1982.

His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University, a Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and a licentiate and doctorate magna cum laude in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, with a dissertation on the role of the local prior in the Augustinian order as his PhD thesis.

Prevost worked extensively in Peru starting in 1985 and held several Vatican roles in his career. He met Bergoglio in Buenos Aires and shared his view of a poor Church serving the underprivileged.

The prelate also faced allegations of covering up sexual abuse by two priests in Chiclayo (Peru), which were eventually deemed inaccurate.

In October 2013, he returned to Chicago to serve again as provincial (Governor of a province of the order, which does not necessarily match traditional geopolitical divisions) until November 3, 2014, when Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Peruvian diocese of Chiclayo, promoting him to Bishop of the diocese of Sufar.

He was ordained bishop on December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the cathedral of his diocese. In March 2018, he was appointed second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference. It was not until Sept. 30, 2023, that he was made a cardinal and assigned the Diaconate of Saint Monica (St Augustine's mother). He officially took possession of his Titular church on Jan. 28, 2024.

Leo XIV's motto is “In Illo uno unum” —words pronounced by Saint Augustine in a sermon on Psalm 127 to explain that “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.”

He waved to thousands of people in St. Peter's Square as they cheered and chanted his name. Speaking in flawless Italian, the Pope pointed out that his predecessor had always been “courageous and has blessed Rome” and “gave his blessing to the whole world that Easter morning.”

“Let's pursue that blessing. God loves us, and God loves all of you. Sin will not triumph, we are all in God's hands,” Leo XIV insisted.

Last, he spoke in perfect Spanish to the Peruvian faithful: “I especially want to send a greeting to my compatriots from Peru. It was a great pleasure for me to work in Peru.”