American Cardinal Robert Prevost is the 267th Pope in the Catholic Church and chose the name Leo.
The 69-year-old Chicago native is the first pope in the United States and is regarded as a diplomat in the church.
Born in 1955 in Spanish and Franco-Italian parent, Prevost is an altar boy and was appointed a priest in 1982. Later, he moved to Peru three years later.
Prevost has Peruvian nationality and is remembered as a figure who works with marginalized communities and helps build bridges.
He worked as a local parish priest at a seminary in Trujillo, northwestern Peru for 10 years. According to the Vatican Press resume, he was appointed a pastor on June 19, 1982 after studying Canon Law at Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University.
Francis’ late pope appointed Pope Leo to work in the Vatican after he first appointed him as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru in 2014. He spent most of his time in Peru, where he also served as a teacher, missionary and parish priest.
His profile says that in April 2020, Francis appointed him as the Acts Administrator of the Diocese of Carlo in Peru.
He has served as county magistrate of Dicastery, who serves as bishop of the Vatican since 2023, and is responsible for reviewing nominations for bishops around the world.
Pope Leo told Vatican News in October 2024 that “the bishop should not be the little prince sitting in his kingdom, but is truly called modesty, approaching the people he serves, walking with them and suffering with them.”
He is also currently the chairman of the Latin American Religious Council.
