Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected Pope on May 8, 2025 (local time), taking the name Leo XIV.

Pope Leo XIV is the Church’s first Augustinian Pope, and the first born in North America.

The future Pope was born and raised in Chicago in the United States in 1955. At 27, he was sent to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum). Later, he served a mission in Peru, and became the Bishop of Chiclayo.

In 2023, then-Pope Francis called him to Rome to serve as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Later appointed by Francis as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, he became a Cardinal in 2024.

When Pope Francis was hospitalised in early 2025, the future Pope Leo XIV presided over the Rosary for Pope Francis’s health in Saint Peter’s Square.

A Pope of peace

Pope Leo XIV calls us to pray for peace in a world in the midst of storms. The new Pope’s first words when addressing the world from the Central Loggia of St Peter’s Basilica not long after his election were “Peace be with you!”

He also said:

“God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we will go forward. We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light. Humanity needs Him like a bridge to reach God and His love. You help us to build bridges with dialogue and encounter so we can all be one people always in peace.”

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  • Pope Leo visits Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
    on October 9, 2025 at 5:52 pm

    Pope Leo XIV pays a visit to the headquarters of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and blesses a sculpture called “The Tree of Human Dignity.” Read all  

  • News from the Orient – October 9, 2025
    on October 9, 2025 at 2:46 pm

    In this week’s news from the Eastern Churches, produced in collaboration with L’Œuvre d’Orient: Syrian Christians honor Saints Sergius and Bacchus, martyrs whose legacy endures despite years of war; a new Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop is appointed in Paris to serve across Western Europe; and the De La Salle Christian Brothers celebrate 150 years of educational mission in the Holy Land. Read all  

  • Pope Leo to Catholic Charities USA: ‘Migrants are witnesses of hope’
    on October 9, 2025 at 11:21 am

    Pope Leo XIV sends a message of support to Catholic Charities USA, calling its members “agents of hope” as they gather for their 115th Annual Meeting. Read all  

  • Pope: Consecrated persons are ‘witnesses of goods to come’
    on October 9, 2025 at 10:55 am

    During Mass for the Jubilee of Consecrated Life, the Pope urges the thousands of religious men and women in attendance to ‘be truly poor, meek, hungry for holiness, merciful’, and ‘pure of heart’. Read all  

  • Cardinal Pizzaballa welcomes Gaza agreement as ‘first step towards hope’
    on October 9, 2025 at 10:38 am

    The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem expresses joy for the news of an agreement between Israel and Hamas describing it as a necessary first step that brings an atmosphere of trust and hope to the people of the region. Read all