Leo XIV – The first US-American Pope

Pope Leo XIV, whose real name is Robert Francis Prevost, is the first head of the Catholic Church to have an American passport. Church leaders from the USA were long considered unthinkable. In order to avoid political entanglements, the head of the world's largest religious community should not actually come from the most powerful country in the world. But the new pope is at least as much at home in the universal church and the Roman Curia as he is in the country of his birth.

Under his predecessor St Francis, the 69-year-old headed the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops, effectively the personnel department of the universal church. In this role, he has been responsible for bishop appointments worldwide over the past two years.

His office also organises the so-called ad limina visits. Bishops' conferences regularly visit the Vatican to report on their local church. This has made Prevost one of the most recognisable faces in the College of Cardinals, which has never been so scattered around the world and hardly knew each other before the conclave.

Pragmatist with international experience

Born in Chicago on 14 September 1955, the churchman is regarded as diplomatic, pragmatic and appreciated by both progressive and conservative church representatives, as well as his colleagues. He gained international experience not only through his last position in the Curia.

In 1977, he joined the Augustinian order and was sent to Rome to study canon law. His order then sent him to Peru as a missionary. Until the early 2000s, he alternated between various positions in the USA and Peru, working mainly in the training of young religious. He speaks Spanish and Italian with a slight English accent.

In 2002, the Augustinian Order elected him as its worldwide leader. Prevost went to Rome for two terms of office. The US-American has lived in the general curia of his order near the Vatican since his return to Rome in early 2023. He previously headed the diocese of Chiclayo in Peru and was second vice president of the Peruvian Bishops' Conference, which was polarised by church politics.

Via Peru to Rome

Pope Francis got to know him in the South American country, eventually bringing him to the Vatican as head of the bishops' dicastery and making him a cardinal. At the same time, Prevost was also President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Leo XIV now had to lead not only a globally organised order, but also the entire world church with its 1.4 billion members. He is likely to continue on his predecessor's path towards a church with greater participation of all believers.

Francis had extended this path again shortly before his death by scheduling an "ecclesial general assembly" for October 2028. The modest and human-centred style of Francis will probably also want to be continued by the next religious in the papal office.