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.”

Social links to Vatican news

Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

Vatican News – English News from the Vatican – News about the Church

  • Irish abuse victim encounters Pope Leo: ‘He felt my pain’
    on February 2, 2026 at 7:17 pm

    Pope Leo XIV meets with David Ryan, a former student at Blackrock College in Ireland, and listens to his story of the abuse he and his late brother, Mark, endured at the Catholic secondary school. Read all  

  • Pope to religious: Even where weapons roar, you are witnesses to Jesus
    on February 2, 2026 at 5:13 pm

    Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass on the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life, praising consecrated men and women for living out their steadfast faith even in the most difficult of circumstances, and inviting them to be ‘leavens of peace’ and ‘signs of hope.’ Read all  

  • Russia confirms new peace talks with Ukraine despite deadly drone attacks
    on February 2, 2026 at 4:14 pm

    Russia confirms that a new round of U.S.-mediated peace talks will be held with Ukraine this week in Abu Dhabi after a brief pause amid concerns over the human cost of a war in which combined military casualties on both sides are estimated to be approaching two million. Read all  

  • Gaza: Rafah Crossing opens two years on
    on February 2, 2026 at 2:50 pm

    Israel reopens Gaza’s Rafah Crossing to Egypt, but restrictions remain. The full reopening of the Rafah crossing was part of the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement that went into effect in mid-October on condition that all living and deceased Hamas-held hostages were returned to Israel. Read all  

  • Pope Leo receives the President of the Republic of Portugal
    on February 2, 2026 at 1:44 pm

    Pope Leo XIV receives the President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in the Vatican on Monday morning. Read all