Pope Leo XIV

About Pope Leo XIV

Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955 and joined the Order of Saint Augustine as a young man. He spent some twenty years in Peru as a missionary, a formator of seminarians and later bishop of Chiclayo, taking Peruvian citizenship as well. In Rome he ran the department responsible for proposing bishops to the pope for the whole world.

He was elected on 8 May 2025, the first pope born in the United States. He chose the name Leo in reference to Leo XIII, the pope who at the end of the nineteenth century confronted the labour question of the industrial revolution head-on — and explained the choice by pointing to what artificial intelligence is doing to human work today. From his first appearance on the balcony he pressed for a Church that builds bridges and walks beside working people.

He is the pope of the present moment, which is why a message from him carries the weight of the man governing the Church right now. It is often sent for confirmations, for birthdays of people involved in parish life, for ordinations, and to anyone who follows the Church closely.

How it works