Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the first to hold American and Peruvian citizenship, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second from the Americas (after his predecessor Francis).

Prevost was born in Chicago and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton, Illinois. He became a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. His service includes extensive missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s, where he worked as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, he was based in Rome from 2001 to 2013, and extensively traveled to the order's provinces around the world. He then returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome, and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Made a cardinal by Pope Francis, Prevost emphasized synodality, missionary dialogue, and engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged with issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance, and human rights, and expressed alignment with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

Prevost's election in the 2025 papal conclave was unexpected by observers; he was a dark horse candidate, with Vatican insiders believing that a pope would never emerge from the United States. He took his papal name in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who developed modern Catholic social teaching amid the Second Industrial Revolution.

Early life, family, and education

Background and ancestry

Robert Francis Prevost was born on September 14, 1955, at Mercy Hospital in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, on the city's South Side. Prevost has two older brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph, and is of French Italian, Spanish, and Louisiana Creole descent. His mother, Mildred Agnes Prevost (), was born in Chicago into a mixed-race family from Louisiana. She worked as an educator and librarian, including at Mendel Catholic High School. His father, Louis Marius Prevost, was also a Chicago native, having grown up in Hyde Park. Louis's parents were immigrants from Italy and France. Louis Prevost was a United States Navy veteran of World War II who commanded an infantry landing craft in the Normandy landings and later participated in Operation Dragoon in southern France. Also an educator, he later became superintendent of Brookwood School District 167 in Glenwood, Illinois.

Early life and schooling

Known as "Rob" to his family and "Bob" to friends as an adult, Prevost was raised in Dolton, Illinois, a suburb bordering the far South Side. He grew up in the parish of St. Mary of the Assumption in nearby Riverdale, where he went to school, sang in the choir, and served as an altar boy. Prevost aspired to the priesthood from a young age, and would play-act the Mass at home with his brothers.

From 1969 to 1973, Prevost attended St. Augustine Seminary High School, a minor seminary near Saugatuck, Michigan; his brother John recalled how, from the end of eighth grade on, and especially after joining the Order of Saint Augustine, until their later adulthood when leave allowed them to reconnect, Prevost was hardly at home or with their family.

At the Augustinian seminary, he earned a letter of commendation for academic excellence, consistently appeared on the honor roll, served as yearbook editor-in-chief, and was secretary of the student council and a member of the National Honor Society. He captained the bowling team and headed the speech and debate team. Well-liked and highly intelligent, Prevost had a reputation for helping other students as a tutor. Out of several dozen who entered the school with him, Prevost was one of only 13 students in his class to graduate.

University

In 1973, Prevost was planning to attend Tolentine College, an Augustinian seminary in Olympia Fields, Illinois, but it closed that same year. He promptly enrolled in Villanova University, an Augustinian college located near Philadelphia, where he earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in mathematics in 1977. At Villanova, he took elective courses in Hebrew and Latin (which was seen as unusual because he was not majoring in theology), read the writings of Saint Augustine, and discussed the work of Karl Rahner with other students. Prevost also worked as a cemetery groundskeeper at Saint Denis Roman Catholic Church in Havertown, Pennsylvania, while studying at Villanova.

He returned to his father's native Hyde Park to obtain a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Catholic Theological Union in 1982 and taught physics and math at St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago's Wrightwood neighborhood during his studies. He earned a Licentiate of Canon Law (JCL) in 1984, followed by a Doctor of Canon Law (JCD) degree in 1987, both from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. During this period, he also learned Italian. His doctoral thesis was a study of the role of the local prior in the Order of Saint Augustine. Villanova University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in 2014.

Early career (1977–1998)

Formation and early priesthood

On September 1, 1977, Prevost joined the Order of Saint Augustine as a novice, residing for one year at Immaculate Conception Church in the Gate District neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. In the summer of 1978, Prevost spent three months in Clinical Pastoral Education at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. He moved to Chicago, and took his first vows on September 2, 1978; he made his solemn vows on August 29, 1981. On September 10, 1981, Prevost was ordained a deacon by Thomas Gumbleton at St. Clare of Montefalco Parish in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. Prevost was ordained a priest in Rome, at the Church of Santa Monica degli Agostiniani by Archbishop Jean Jadot on June 19, 1982.

Missionary work in Peru

Prevost joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985, serving as chancellor of the Territorial Prelature of Chulucanas (1985–1986). In 1987, after defending his doctoral thesis, he was vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Olympia Fields, Illinois, and worked with the faculty of the Augustinian Novitiate in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, before returning to Peru in 1988. During his time in Peru, Prevost met and appreciated the Dominican priest and theologian Gustavo Gutierrez, a founder of liberation theology. He also learned and mastered the Spanish language during this period.

Prevost spent a decade heading the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo, teaching canon law in the diocesan seminary, serving as prefect of studies, acting as a judge in the regional ecclesiastical court, and working in parish ministry on the city's outskirts. He proved successful in the Augustinians' efforts to recruit Peruvians for the priesthood and leadership positions in the order. He organized support for Venezuelan refugees to Peru despite discrimination against the Venezuelans.

During the '' Fujimorato'' era, Prevost criticized the actions of then-President Alberto Fujimori, placing special emphasis on the victims of the Peruvian Army, especially the Colina Group, during the period of terrorism in Peru, as well as on political corruption. In 2017, he criticized President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's decision to pardon Fujimori, and called upon Fujimori "to personally apologize for some of the great injustices that were committed". His years in Peru gave him personal knowledge of political violence and inequality; at times, as a missionary, he traveled by horse on difficult roads to reach the isolated communities in the valleys of Lambayeque. He also stood out as a defender of human rights of the population of the Norte Chico region against the violence of the Marxist–Leninist–Maoist guerrilla organization Shining Path.

Prior provincial and prior general (1998–2013)

In 1998, Prevost was elected Prior Provincial of the Order of St. Augustine's Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel based in Chicago, assuming the role on March 8, 1999. In 2000, he permitted James Ray, an Augustinian priest, to reside at St. John Stone Friary in Chicago under supervision. Ray had been suspended from public ministry since 1991 due to credible accusations that he had sexually abused minors. Prevost's placing of Ray in a friary close to St. Thomas School was the subject of reporting in 2021, prior to his appointment to the Vatican. Ray was moved to other housing in 2002 after American bishops implemented stricter rules in the Dallas Charter.

Elected Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine in 2001, Prevost served two consecutive, six-year terms until 2013. During his tenure as the global head of the Augustinian order, Prevost lived and worked in Rome, but frequently traveled around the world. It was in that capacity that in 2004, he visited Buenos Aires and met Cardinal Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio for the first time. Their early encounters are reported to have not gone well. Prevost later explained that at the time, he thought he would never become a bishop after Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013, but has declined to reveal what they initially disagreed upon. However, they were able to reconcile their differences before Prevost left Rome for Chicago in 2013.

From 2013 to 2014, Prevost served as director of formation at the Convent of St. Augustine in Chicago, and as first councilor and provincial vicar of the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel.

Bishop of Chiclayo (2015–2023)

On November 3, 2014, Pope Francis appointed Prevost as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru and the titular bishop of Sufar. He was consecrated on December 12, 2014, at St. Mary's Cathedral in Chiclayo by Archbishop James Green, Apostolic Nuncio to Peru. On September 26, 2015, he was named Bishop of Chiclayo. As required by a 1980 pact between the Holy See and Peru, Prevost became a naturalized Peruvian citizen before becoming bishop.

Prevost developed a close bond with the diocese of Chiclayo, directing a special message to them in his first message as Pope, calling them "my beloved diocese", "faithful people" and "faithful church". He was seen as being "very faithful to the Church's social doctrine" and organized relief efforts during calamities. He also supported projects in favor of Venezuelan refugees and encouraged vocations in youth groups, giving strong support to the seminary. According to interviews done by '' The Pillar'', people in the diocese described their bishop as having a "balanced" personality, a "calming presence," showing "great charity and great clarity" in doctrinal matters, and a bridge-builder with "apostolic zeal."

On July 13, 2019, Prevost was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Clergy, and on April 15, 2020, he became apostolic administrator of Callao. On November 21, 2020, he joined the Congregation for Bishops. Within the Episcopal Conference of Peru, he served on the permanent council (2018–2020) and was elected president of its Commission for Education and Culture in 2019, also contributing to Caritas Peru. While bishop, he established a diocesan Commission on Integral Ecology and appointed a woman to lead it. Prevost had a private audience with Pope Francis on March 1, 2021, sparking speculation about a new role in Chicago or Rome.

Prevost has been accused of covering up sexual abuse during his time in Chiclayo. In 2022, alleged victims of abuse in 2007 by priests Ricardo Yesquén Paiva and Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzáles said the Diocese of Chiclayo failed to investigate their cases. The Diocese of Chiclayo stated that Prevost followed proper procedures, met with Ana María Quispe and her sisters in April 2022 to personally attend the victims, encouraged them to initiate a civil action, and initiated a canonical investigation, the results of which he sent to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The sisters stated in 2024 that no full penal canonical investigation occurred, and an investigation by América Televisión concluded that the church's investigation was not thorough.

Speaking to the Peruvian newspaper '' La República'' while Bishop of Chiclayo, Prevost said: "If you are a victim of sexual abuse by a priest, report it. We reject cover-ups and secrecy; that causes a lot of harm. We have to help people who have suffered due to wrongdoing." Journalist , who investigated and exposed crimes committed by members of the now-defunct Sodalitium Christianae Vitae—including sexual, physical, and psychological abuse—has argued that Prevost always expressed his support for the victims and was one of the most reliable clerical authorities in Peru, leading Pope Francis to select him as prefect of bishops. Salinas has written that some of the Peruvian clerics linked to the Sodalitium sought to attack and defame Prevost in retaliation for his role in the Sodalitium's dissolution by Pope Francis due to its sexual abuse scandals, as well as Prevost being near to Francis's political theology.

Dicastery for Bishops and cardinalate (2023–2025)

By the 2020s, Pope Francis had become close to Prevost and advanced his career. On January 30, 2023, Francis appointed Prevost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops with the title Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo. Prevost expressed a preference to stay in Peru, but nonetheless accepted the appointment to move to Rome.

On September 30, 2023, Francis created Prevost a cardinal with the rank of cardinal-deacon and assigned the deaconry of Santa Monica degli Agostiniani. As prefect, he played a critical role in evaluating and recommending episcopal candidates worldwide, increasing his visibility within the church. These roles elevated his prominence as a papal candidate leading into the conclave. In October 2023, Francis appointed him as a member of seven additional dicasteries, and also named him to the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.

On February 6, 2025, Francis promoted Prevost to cardinal-bishop, assigning him as titular bishop of the Suburbicarian Diocese of Albano. On February 11, he was appointed to the dignity and rank of Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta by Grand Master Fra' John Dunlap. Prevost was active in the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council and participated in the council's meetings in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, in May 2023.

Papacy (2025–present)

Election

In pre-conclave speculation, Prevost was considered a dark horse compared to more prominent , although he was noted to be an ally of Pope Francis and a possible compromise candidate. His American nationality had been regarded as a potential stumbling block to his candidacy, reflecting unease about enhancing the United States's geopolitical power. Prevost was well aware of this, explaining to a friend by text message: "I'm an American, I can't be elected". Supporters argued that he represented a "dignified middle of the road".

Prevost was elected pope on May 8, 2025, the second day of the conclave, on the fourth ballot. White smoke appeared from the Sistine Chapel at 18:07 CEST ( UTC+2), signifying to the public that a pope had been chosen. After accepting his election and adopting his papal name, Leo embraced his fellow cardinals upon exiting the Sistine Chapel. Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, the cardinal protodeacon, made the traditional Latin proclamation, ', announcing Pope Leo XIV to the public for the first time from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. According to Italian law enforcement, by the time of the '' habemus papam'' announcement, right before Pope Leo XIV revealed himself, there were up to 150,000 in the square.

Leo appeared wearing the traditional papal stole and mozzetta, vestments Pope Francis did not wear upon his greeting of the world following his election. His pectoral cross was one he wore during the conclave, a gift from the Postulator General of the Augustinian Order when he became a cardinal, containing relics from Saint Augustine and his mother Saint Monica, among others. He then delivered his first address in Italian and Spanish. He expressed gratitude for the legacy of Pope Francis, and imparted his first blessing in Latin.

Leo XIV is the first pope from the Order of Saint Augustine and the second pope from the Americas (after Pope Francis), and the 267th overall pope. He is a dual citizen of Peru and the United States. He is the first American pope, in the sense of being the first born in the United States. He is the second to be a native English speaker, after the English-born Adrian IV (), who would have spoken Middle English. Leo is also the first pope born after World War II and during the Cold War, and thus the first to be born in the Baby Boomer generation. While Leo is the first pope from the Order of Saint Augustine, six previous popes belonged to other orders which follow the Augustinian Rule.

Inaugural acts

On May 9, the day after his election, Leo celebrated his first Mass as pope in the Sistine Chapel before the assembled College of Cardinals. During the Mass, he preached against the lack of faith in the world, and spoke of a church that would act as a "beacon that illuminates the dark nights of this world". Media reported that Leo would take up permanent residence in the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace rather than in the Domus Sanctae Marthae where Francis lived.

Leo's inauguration Mass was held on May 18 in St. Peter's Square. During the Mass, he received the pallium and his Ring of the Fisherman before 12 representatives of the people of God, including cardinals and bishops, who vowed obedience to the new pope. On May 25, he was formally installed as Bishop of Rome in a ceremony at the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran.

Appointments

On May 14, Leo made his first appointment of senior clergy, naming Miguel Ángel Contreras Llajaruna to be auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Callao in Peru.

On June 5, Leo nominated Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou, which was approved by Chinese authorities on June 11 as part of a 2018 agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Holy See under Pope Francis.

On June 13, Leo set the canonization of Carlo Acutis, which had been postponed due to Pope Francis's death, on September 7, 2025.

Views

Prevost's regnal name was chosen in honor of Pope Leo XIII (r. 1878–1903), whose encyclical '' Rerum novarum'' established modern Catholic social teaching and promoted labor rights. According to the Holy See Press Office director Matteo Bruni, this choice is "clearly a reference to the lives of men and women, to their work – even in an age marked by artificial intelligence."

According to Cardinal Fernando Chomalí of Chile, Leo told him that the choice of papal name is based on his concern about the world's cultural shifts, a type of Copernican Revolution involving artificial intelligence and robotics. Chomalí said: "He was inspired by Leo XIII, who amid the Industrial Revolution wrote ''Rerum novarum'' launching an important dialogue between the church and the modern world." Leo himself explained that "the church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor."

In a May 2023 interview, Prevost stressed the need for prudence and responsibility on using social media to preclude "fueling divisions and controversy" and doing "damage to the communion of the Church." This view is in line with his tendency to speak "with caution and great deliberation", as Christopher White, the Vatican correspondent of the '' National Catholic Reporter,'' described him.

The ''National Catholic Reporter'' stated that Leo XIV is committed to ecumenism with other Christian denominations. At his inauguration, he referenced "sister Christian Churches" and prayed for "a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world." Leo XIV's first international trip as pontiff will be to Turkey to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea with other Christians.

Church policy

The new pope's first message emphasized the greeting of peace of the risen Jesus "who gave his life for God's flock", giving "an unarmed and disarming peace". Leo said he wanted to continue the kerygmatic blessing of Pope Francis: "God cares for you, God loves you all, and evil will not prevail! We are all in God's hands." The themes in his first message included Jesus as light needed by the world, becoming a missionary church through dialogue and openness, fidelity to the Gospel, walking together in synodality, working as a united church for peace and justice, closeness to the suffering, and praying to Mary. Twice he mentioned the need of not having fear, and emphasized God's help to "build bridges" for "all of us to be one people always in peace."

Leo XIV's episcopal motto is ("In the One, we are one"). In his first address as pope to the cardinals, Leo declared his "complete commitment" to the ecclesial path traced by the Second Vatican Council. He praised Pope Francis's specification of this path through '' Evangelii Gaudium'', the Joy of the Gospel, and highlighted six "evangelical principles", which he deems as perennial and revelatory of God's mercy: the primacy of Christ in proclamation; the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community; collegiality and synodality; attention to the '' sensus fidei'', the capacity of the whole faithful to sense the faith, especially popular piety; loving care for the least and the rejected; and dialogue with the contemporary world.

Discussing the ordination of women in October 2023, Prevost stated that the "very significant and long tradition of the church" makes it impossible to consider women as priests and that "the apostolic tradition is something that has been spelled out very clearly." By contrast, he observed that the possibility of women deacons has been the subject of two Vatican commissions, demonstrating "openness to giving consideration" to that question. He also cautioned that the ordination of women as deacons "doesn't necessarily solve a problem" and could create new issues. Commenting on Pope Francis's 2023 appointment of three women as members of the Dicastery for Bishops, which he headed, he noted that their perspectives often align with other members but can introduce valuable new viewpoints.

As a cardinal, Prevost was a vocal proponent of synodality, one of Pope Francis's signature initiatives. Prevost suggested that the participation and co-responsibility of all the faithful could address the polarization in the church. In May 2023, Prevost said that episcopal leadership should prioritize faith over administration. The first priority is to "communicate the beauty of the faith, the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus." Also in May 2023, Prevost said he has faith that "the Holy Spirit is ..pushing us towards a renewal." He stated that all the faithful are "called to the great responsibility of living what I call a new attitude," which is "to listen first of all to the Holy Spirit, to what He is asking of the Church."

Liturgical and ceremonial practice

During his service in Peru, Prevost was described as an "impeccable dresser" when it came to celebrating the Mass, wearing full vestments even when summer temperatures rose above 85°F in Chiclayo. In August 2024, speaking to a Chicago-area parish, Prevost stated that "liturgy needs to be beautiful to help us, to strengthen us in our faith." In his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel as pope, he chose to use a papal ferula, or ceremonial staff, made for Benedict XVI and seldom used by Francis. The mozzetta worn after his election, and Benedict's ferula signaled to some a "return to normal" in the Holy See following the Francis papacy. However, during his Inauguration Mass in St Peter's Square on May 18, 2025, Leo XIV used the ferula of Pope Paul VI which is most commonly associated with Pope John Paul II, and frequently used by Francis. Pope Leo XIV received another pectoral cross upon his election, which he has been wearing instead of the one he wore during the conclave and his first appearance as pope. This one is silver, with relics of St. Leo the Great, St. Augustine, St. Thomas of Villanova, and Blessed Anselmo Polanco Fontecha. He also chose to restore the custom of the pope himself giving archbishops the pallium, which had been altered by Francis in 2015.

Social and political issues

Within the context of church politics and theology, Prevost has been seen as a moderate or centrist, neither liberal nor conservative. In April 2025, the Italian newspaper stated that Prevost was seen as a "cosmopolitan and shy figure" who was "appreciated by conservatives and progressives" within the church. In line with the church's official positions, Prevost opposes abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage and the death penalty. Prevost expressed reservations about "sympathy for beliefs and practices that contradict the gospel" and did not fully endorse nor reject , a declaration concerning blessings for people in a same-sex relationship. He stated that national bishops' conferences should "interpret and apply such directives in their local contexts, given cultural differences." In 2012, he criticized popular culture's sympathy for the "homosexual lifestyle" and same-sex families. In April 2016, Prevost opposed the inclusion of " gender ideology" in Peruvian primary school curricula, stating it promotes "genders that don't exist". When asked in 2023 by Catholic News Service whether his views from 2012 had changed, Prevost said that "many things have changed" and emphasized the church should be more open and welcoming though he cautioned that church doctrine has not changed. In May 2025, he said that it was up to governments to build peaceful societies "above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman."

During his time in Chiclayo, Prevost remained relatively politically neutral on national issues. However, in the midst of the Peruvian protests in 2023, he stated: "The deaths during the protests cause me great sadness and pain ..I asked to stay in Peru; I even made that request to the Holy Father. It wasn't the time to leave." He has also expressed support for the plight of Venezuelan refugees in Peru. With regards to climate change, Prevost has advocated for stronger church action, stating in a November 2024 seminar that "dominion over nature" should not be "tyrannical". On geopolitics, he denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine, describing it as "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power", and in one of his first major speeches as pope, Leo called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Following the Israeli strikes on Iran in June 2025, he urged Iranian and Israeli authorities to act with "reason."

Throughout his time as a bishop and as a cardinal, Prevost continued to vote in both state and federal elections in the United States, being a registered voter in Will County, Illinois. Illinois election law does not require voters to register by political party, thus Prevost has never officially declared any affiliation to a political party. The elections Prevost has voted in include the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, the Democratic primary for the 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election, the 2012 Republican presidential primary, the Republican primary for the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election, the 2016 Republican presidential primary, and the 2024 United States general election.

On the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Prevost's former account retweeted posts critical of US immigration policies under President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. He has also expressed support for COVID-19 vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic and sympathy for George Floyd and protesters. His X account which he used prior to his election as pope has since been deleted and he is currently using the official @Pontifex handle, inherited from Popes Francis and Benedict.

In his Pentecost homily soon after his election as Pope, Leo criticized the "exclusionary mindset" displayed by various nationalist movements. The Holy Spirit "breaks down barriers and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred", he said. To Leo, areas advertized as "security zones" had the effect of "separating us from our neighbors" and spreading "prejudice". He proclaimed that the Church needed to "open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race."

Personal life

In addition to his native language of English, Leo speaks Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese, along with some German. He can also read Latin. During his time in Peru, Leo learned a little of one of the Quechuan languages. He has described himself as "quite the amateur tennis player". He regularly plays '' Wordle'' and '' Words with Friends'' with his brothers.

Leo is a lifelong fan of the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball, and was in attendance at US Cellular Field (now known as Rate Field) for Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. His support for Chicago sports also extends to the National Football League's Chicago Bears; JD Vance presented him with a custom Bears jersey following his papal inauguration, which Leo remarked was a "good choice". He has also shown support for Villanova University athletics, especially the Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team.

As a teenager, he enjoyed driving recreationally. Throughout his life, he has frequently preferred driving long distances for journeys where most people prefer to fly, such as from Philadelphia to Chicago, Brisbane to Sydney, and Chiclayo to Lima. He also repaired cars himself as a bishop in Chiclayo.

Leo has been reported to have "a very disciplined prayer life." During his time as bishop of Chiclayo, aside from daily Mass celebrated at 8 p.m. to ensure a clear mind, Prevost had periods of prayer at the beginning of the day and before dinner. He prayed lauds in the morning at the Cathedral and the Rosary with his priest colleagues around noon.

Coat of arms

See also

* Family of Pope Leo XIV
* Pope Leo XIV bibliography
* Cardinals created by Francis
* List of popes by country

Notes

References

External links

Vatican webpage about Pope Leo XIV
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