If it were a secular contest judged by ‘political correctness,’ or otherwise, and going by his public disagreement with his compatriot, President Donald Trump, especially over immigration, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost could have been dismissed as an outsider in the 2025 papal succession race.
Not that religion is devoid of politics, after all, President Trump recently shared a controversial Artificial Intelligence-generated image of himself in papal vestments.
However, when the bell tolled to confirm the news of the election of a new pope at the Vatican, Prevost’s choice over a dozen favourites was closer to an ‘also-ran’ except to the spiritually inclined.
As the white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, the new pope’s name did not ring a bell outside the Sistine Chapel, where 133 sequestered Cardinal electors were gathered to elect the late Pope Francis’ successor.
Cardinal Dominique Mamberti emerged to announce the 69-year-old prelate as the 267th head of the estimated 1.4 billion Catholic faithful, making him the first pope from America and Peru on Thursday, 8 May 2025.
Prevost holds dual American and Peruvian citizenship and was chosen by the Cardinal Electors after a two-day Papal Conclave and three voting sessions.
When he first appeared on the balcony after his election, many did not recognise the prelate as he greeted the crowds in Latin, to the chorus, cheering and waving: ‘Habemus papam’ – we have a new pope.
The Chicago-born Prevost chose Pope Leo XIV as his papal title in line with the Catholic tradition.
The son of Louis Marius Prevost, a catechist with French and Italian roots, young Prevost considered the priesthood in his youth.
He joined an Augustinian minor seminary, attracted by the order’s stress on unity, communion, and the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo.
Prevost studied canon law at the Angelicum in Rome and was ordained a priest in 1982 by Archbishop Jean Jadot, pro-president of the Vatican’s Secretariat for Non-Christians (now the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue).
After his studies, Prevost went to northwestern Peru, which had a strong connection with the U.S. Augustinians. He travelled all over the country and later became a naturalised citizen.
In 2001, he was elected prior general of the worldwide Augustinian order, a post he held for two six-year terms before Pope Francis named him apostolic administrator of the Chiclayo diocese, returning him to northwestern Peru.
A year later, he became bishop of the diocese covering one of Peru’s biggest cities, shantytowns and rural areas.
In 2022, Prevost was accused of failing to investigate cases of alleged abuse against two priests at the Chiclayo diocese. The diocese denied the allegations, but the cases made headlines in 2024.
The American prelate’s attitude is said to be shaped by the vow of obedience he made when he committed to the Augustinian order, citing an elderly priest who told him: “As a young man, it will be harder for you to live celibacy. But later, you’ll see that living obedience is the most difficult thing.”
In 2023, the pope named Prevost Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops from Chicago, the largest Archdiocese in North America, succeeding the Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet.
He also served as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, once quoted as saying: “The authority we have (as bishops) is to serve, to accompany priests, to be pastors and teachers.”
Prevost led the recitation of the Holy Rosary for Pope Francis’ health in St Peter’s Square before the last Pope’s death and is expected to following his evangelical principles.
After Argentine Francis, the first pope from Latin America, many thought that the cardinals would elect a European successor, with Italians longing to bring the papacy ‘back home.’ But this has now been deferred to the next conclave.
Francis died at 88, after an impactful 12-year pontificate that touched many lives with his simplicity, humility and love for the poor and the marginalised.
He was unafraid to state his positions on controversial issues confronting the Church, such as the relation with the LGBTQ+ community, divorced people, unwed mothers, abortion and clerical abuse.
These unresolved issues will still engage, if not define, the papacy of the new pope and others after him.
World leaders are sending their congratulations as Catholics celebrate the election of a new pontiff. The faithful are also saying goodbye to charismatic Francis, all with breathtaking ceremonies rich in tradition and rites, observed once in a blue moon!
*Paul Ejime is a Media/Communications Specialist and Global Affairs Analyst*
