Who is Pope Leo XIV? American Robert Prevost announced as leader of Catholic Church

The Vatican has announced the first ever American leader of the Catholic Church – Robert Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo XIV.

The 69-year-old cardinal was born in Chicago and spent many years as a missionary in Peru.

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He was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023 and appointed head of the dicastery for bishops, a powerful position responsible for selecting new bishops.

Significantly, he presided over one of Francis’s most revolutionary reforms when he added three women to the voting bloc which decides on the bishop nominations sent to the Pope.

As cardinal, he said little on key issues of the church, but some of his positions are known.

He is reportedly very close to Francis’s vision regarding the environment, outreach to the poor and migrants. He said in 2024 “the bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom”.

He also supported Pope Francis’s stance on allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion. However, he only showed mild support for Francis allowing priests to bless same-sex couples.

Pope Leo has years of experience in leadership roles within the church.

He was twice elected to the top position of the Augustinian religious order and Francis clearly had an eye on his progress – moving him from the Augustinian leadership back to Peru in 2014, where he served as administrator and later archbishop of Chiclayo.

He acquired Peruvian citizenship in 2015 and remained in Chiclayo until 2023, when Francis brought him to Rome.

While there has long been a taboo against an American pope – given the geopolitical power the US already wields – Leo was being promoted as a “compromise candidate” ahead of the conclave.

The amount of time he has spent in Peru also allowed him to be seen as a more universal candidate rather than American.

The world learned a new pope had been chosen at around 6.08pm local time (5.08pm UK time) on Thursday as white smoke suddenly emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.

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First US pope chosen

The 133 cardinals sequestered in the chapel picked the new leader of the Catholic Church on the second day of the conclave.

As the smoke appeared, cheers went up in St Peter’s Square, where thousands of people had gathered in the hope of witnessing history.

Just over an hour later, the Pope was introduced on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica as a crowd of an estimated 50,000 people looked on.

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Pope Leo’s first speech

Delivering an address from the balcony, Pope Leo – speaking in Italian – told the crowds: “Peace be with you all.”

He then thanked his predecessor and repeated Francis’s call for a Church that is engaged with the modern world and “always looking for peace, charity and being close to people, especially those who are suffering”.

“Together we must try to find out how to be a church that builds bridges, establishes dialogue and is open to receives everybody,” he said.

Speaking in Spanish, he added: “I would particularly like to say hello to my compatriots from Peru.

“It was a great pleasure for me to work in Peru.”