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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Cyclone Gezani has become the second major storm to strike Madagascar this year, arriving just 10 days after Tropical Cyclone Fytia killed 14 people and displaced more than 31,000. Read all
- Pope prays for victims of devastating cyclones in Madagascaron February 15, 2026 at 11:32 am
After praying the Angelus, Pope Leo expresses his closeness with those reeling from the effects of the back-to-back cyclones in Madagascar, where some 16,000 people have been displaced. Read all
- Pope Leo at the Angelus: True righteousness demands great loveon February 15, 2026 at 11:25 am
In his Angelus reflections on the Sunday Gospel, Pope Leo explains how the Gospel teaches us that we must love greatly for true righteousness. Read all
- Colombia’s bishops appeal for peace and reconciliation in the countryon February 14, 2026 at 2:48 pm
Colombia’s bishops concluded their 120th Plenary Assembly with a call to the country for conversion and dialogue. The bishops also urged citizens to take part in the upcoming elections, exercising their right to vote “in full freedom and conscience, without corruption.” Read all
- Fears over Israeli expansion into West Bankon February 14, 2026 at 1:38 pm
A Palestinian official in the occupied West Bank has labelled Israel’s latest expansion of control there as a brutal blow to peace efforts. Read all