By Olaitan Ibrahim
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been named the new head of the Catholic Church, taking the name and title Pope Leo XiV.
The newly elected pontiff is the first pope from the United States, and the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
The 69-year-old from Chicago stepped into his role as the 267th pope on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday evening, addressing thousands of cheering Catholics with the words: “Peace be with you all.” As he addressed the crowds in St. Peter’s Square, Leo paid tribute to the late pontiff Francis, urging them to remember the late pope’s legacy of unity before outlining his own vision for the Catholic Church.
“We have to seek together to be a missionary church. A church that builds bridges and dialogue,” he said. Speaking in Italian, Leo called on people to “show our charity” to others “and be in dialogue with love.”
Leo was chosen just two days after a group of 133 cardinals gathered in conclave to select a new pontiff, suggesting that he quickly impressed his peers during the secretive process. He is expected to build on Francis’ reforms.
His predecessors, Francis and Benedict XVI, were both revealed in the evening of the conclave’s second day, while John Paul II, the longest-reigning pope of modern times, was selected on the third day, in 1978.
The coming days are for celebration; Leo’s name will be uttered in homilies and Masses across the Roman Catholic world, and will spark particularly joyous scenes in his home country, where one in five adults identifies as Catholic.
But leading the largest Christian denomination through an unpredictable era will require difficult and consequential decisions.
The new pope inherits a church whose image and ambitions were transformed by its predecessor; Francis pulled the priorities of the church away from social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gender roles and contraception, advocating instead for the world’s poor, displaced and needy, and instilling a mission anchored in altruism.
And he must deal with crises from within, too. Francis’ failure to bring a close to the years-long scandal of child sexual abuse in the church despite some important steps will also reverberate through his successor’s papacy.
How to continue that trajectory will be a defining choice for the new pontiff, who, in his first moments as the new pope, signaled respect for Francis’ legacy but perhaps also a desire to set his papacy apart. In a reversion to norms, he wore traditional papal robes, whereas Francis had stepped out onto the balcony in a simple white cassock.
Considered a highly capable and accomplished leader, Prevost most recently headed the powerful Vatican office for new bishop appointments, the Dicastery for Bishops, assessing candidates and making recommendations to the late pope. Francis appointed Prevost to the position, indicating he saw the US cleric as an effective leader.
He also made him president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, where Prevost had spent much of his earlier career as a missionary.
The new pontiff is a member of the Augustinian religious order and spent more than a decade as its prior general, giving him experience of heading an order spread across the world.
The newly ordained Rev. Robert Prevost shakes hands with Pope John Paul II in 1982.
The newly ordained Rev. Robert Prevost shakes hands with Pope John Paul II in 1982. From St. Mary of the Assumption Parish
He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023. In 2015, he also received Peruvian citizenship.
In his inaugural address as pope, Leo switched from speaking in Italian to Spanish – one of several European languages he speaks – to address his “beloved diocese” in Chiclayo.
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte mirrored that sentiment, calling his election a “historic moment for Peru and the world,” in a Thursday address.
“In our lands, he sowed hope, walked alongside the most needy, and shared the joys of our people. … He chose to be one of us, to live among us, and to carry in his heart the faith, culture and dreams of this nation,” Boluarte said.
In the United States, President Donald Trump called the news a “great honor” for America, adding he looks forward to meeting the new pope. Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, said in a message on X: “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church.