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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- Cardinal Pizzaballa prays for peace at Gethsemane on Palm Sundayon March 29, 2026 at 3:42 pm
In his Palm Sunday meditation in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, recalls that just as Jesus wept over Jerusalem for failing to recognize peace, He “weeps” today over a world, especially the Holy Land, still marked by conflict, suffering, and missed opportunities for peace. Read all
- Iran warns US over ‘boots on the ground’ reportson March 29, 2026 at 11:00 am
The Iranian parliament speaker says his country’s forces are ‘waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can rain fire upon them.’ Read all
- Israeli police stop Latin Patriarch from entering Church of Holy Sepulchreon March 29, 2026 at 10:35 am
In a joint press release, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land report they were blocked from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by Israeli police, calling it “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.” Read all
- Pope recalls many Middle East Christians who suffer with Christ during Holy Weekon March 29, 2026 at 10:03 am
Pope Leo XIV decries the fact that many Christians in the Middle East will be unable to celebrate Holy Week rites, urging everyone to remember the many people who share in Christ’s suffering as the Church contemplates the Mystery of the Lord’s Passion. Read all
- Pope at Palm Sunday Mass: ‘Jesus does not listen to prayers of those who wage war’on March 29, 2026 at 9:24 am
Pope Leo XIV presides at Mass on Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, and reflects on Jesus as the King of Peace who rejects war and refuses to listen to the prayers of those who wage war. Read all