Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, overcame a taboo against a U.S. pontiff

Pope Francis brought Robert Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. On Thursday, he ascended to become Pope Leo XIV — the first pontiff from the United States.

Prevost, 69, had to overcome the taboo against an American pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the U.S. in the secular sphere.

The Chicago native is also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.

He evoked his broad experience in his first public remarks as pope, speaking in Italian, then switching to Spanish — and saying not a word in English as he addressed the crowd in Saint Peter’s Square.

He had prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals have.

Prevost was twice elected prior general, or top leader, of the Augustinians, the 13th century religious order founded by St. Augustine. Francis clearly had an eye on him for years, moving him from the Augustinian leadership back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and later archbishop of Chiclayo.

He remained in that position, acquiring Peruvian citizenship in 2015, until Francis brought him to Rome in 2023 to assume the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. In that job he would have kept in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in the part of the world that counts the most Catholics.

Ever since arriving in Rome, Prevost has kept a low public profile, but he was well known to the men who count.

Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope. In early 2025, Francis again showed his esteem by appointing Prevost to the most senior rank of cardinals.

The selection of a U.S.-born pope could have profound impact on the future of the U.S. Catholic Church, which has been sharply divided between conservatives and progressives. Francis, with Prevost’s help at the help of the bishop vetting office, had embarked on a 12-year project to rein in the traditionalist tendencies in the United States.

Prevost’s election “is a deep sign of commitment to social issues. I think it is going to be exciting to see a different kind of American Catholicism in Rome,’’ said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, a professor of religious studies at Manhattan University in New York City.

The bells of the cathedral in Peru’s capital of Lima tolled after Prevost’s election was announced. People outside the church expressed their desire for a papal visit at one point.

“For us Peruvians, it is a source of pride that this is a pope who represents our country,” said elementary school teacher Isabel Panez, who happened to be near the cathedral when the news was announced. “We would like him to visit us here in Peru.”

The Rev. Fidel Purisaca Vigil, the communications director for Prevost’s old diocese in Chiclayo, remembers the cardinal rising each day and having breakfast with his fellow priests after saying his prayers.

“No matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy,” Purisaca said in an email.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Prevost joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977. He attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1977, and he got a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982.

___

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.