Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is U.S first Pope

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States of America has been elected the 267th Pope.

CNN News say that Pope Prevost, a 69-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, is the first ever Pope from the US. They say he will be known as Leo XIV.

CNN News emphasized a leader with global experience; he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments.

They say he is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.

Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Prevost served as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1982. Although he moved to Peru three years later, he returned regularly to the US to serve as a pastor and a prior in his home city.

The BBC reports that he has Peruvian nationality and is fondly remembered as a figure who worked with marginalised communities and helped build bridges.

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

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

He also spoke of his role in the Augustinian Order. He was 30 when he moved to Peru as part of an Augustinian mission.

Francis made him Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru a year after becoming Pope.

He is well known to cardinals because of his high-profile role as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Latin America which has the important task of selecting and supervising bishops.

He became archbishop at the same time in January 2023 and within a few months Francis made him a cardinal.

As 80% of the cardinals who took part in the conclave were appointed by Francis, it is not all that surprising that someone like Prevost was elected, even if he was only recently appointed.

Prevost is believed to have shared Francis' views on migrants, the poor and the environment.

As cardinal, he has not shied away from challenging the views of US Vice-President JD Vance.

As cardinal, he has not shied away from challenging the views of US Vice-President JD Vance.

He reposted a post on social media platform X which was critical of the Trump administration's deportation of a US resident to El Salvador, and shared a critical comment piece written about a TV interview given by Vance to Fox News.

Although he is an American, and will be fully aware of the divisions within the Catholic Church, his Latin American background also represents continuity after a Pope who came from Argentina.

The Vatican described him as the second pope from the Americas, after Pope Francis, as well as the the first Augustinian pope.

During his time in Peru he has not escaped the sexual abuse scandals that have clouded the Church, however his diocese fervently denied he had been involved in any attempted cover-up. The CNN News say Pope Leo XIV highlighted in his first address that he called for peace and he also paid tribute to late Pope Francis to a roaring crowd.

Pope Leo XIV calls for church to build bridges and engage in dialogue.

Iliana Source: CNN/BBC