The selection of Cardinal Robert Prevost as pope is a historical event. He is the first American pope, and he was just a cardinal for a few years prior to the Papal Conclave meeting.
In 1955, Prevost was born in Chicago where he grew up alongside his two brothers, Louis and John Prevost. Prevost always had a religious side to him.
“We used to tease him about being pope because he always had that holy way about him,” Louis said in an interview with Fox News. “The neighbors on the street we grew up with, a lot of them used to say, ‘you’re going to grow up to be pope one day.’
Prevost was ordained as a priest June 19, 1982. Three years later, he traveled to Peru on a missionary trip. He spent nearly three decades in Peru teaching and preaching at a local seminary.
Pope Francis appointed Prevost Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru in 2014. A year later, he became a bishop and obtained his Peruvian citizenship.
Francis appointed Prevost to become a cardinal in 2023.
After the death of Francis April 30, the Papal Conclave conviened May 7 to elect a new pope. It took four ballots before the College of Cardinals agreed to elect Prevost as the new pope. Prevost chose the name Pope Leo XIV because he agreed with Pope Leo XIII’s view of workers’ rights. Pope Leo XIII laid the foundation for the church’s engagement with social justice issues.
At Leo XIV’s first public address, he reminisced about the papacy of Francis.
“We still hear in our ears the weak but always courageous voice of Pope Francis, who blessed us,” Leo said.
During his address, Leo also listed some of his goals for his papacy.
“Together, we must look for ways to be a missionary church,” Leo said. “A church that builds bridges and encourages dialogue, a church ever open to welcoming, like this square with its open arms, all those who are in need of our charity, our presence, our readiness to dialogue and our love.”
Leo is 69 years old, historically a young age to become pope. Him becoming pope is already a historic achievement, but his papacy is yet to be seen.
