Pope Leo XIV, the first "American Pope"

Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV (source: wikimedia commons)

On the second day of the conclave, the cardinals convened in the Sistine Chapel decided on the new pope. He is Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago in 1955 and thus the first pope to be born in the United States.

He is also a naturalized citizen of Peru, and as such is doubly “American.” His Peruvian citizenship comes from two decades lived in that country: first in 1985-86, as an Augustinian priest; then from 1988 to 1998, as the head of the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo, Peru; and finally from 2014 to 2023 as the bishop of the diocese of Chiclayo in northwestern Peru.

As such, he spent most of his life in the priesthood outside of the US, ministering to the poor and marginalized. In that, he seems to follow in the footsteps of Frances.

Choosing the name “Leo” also sends a signal, but of what? The first Pope Leo, aka Leo the Great, was known as a learned man, a Doctor of the Church, and also one of the architects of papal power. So, there’s that.

His most recent predecessor is Leo XIII, pope from 1878 to 1903 (one of the longest-serving popes in history — a record the new Leo may well match, considering his relative youth, pope-wise). Leo XIII was known for a record of pushing the church into the modern age, confronting the inequalities produced by industrial capitalism, and championing the rights of workers. Could be a positive sign?

On the negative side, there’s the one scandal that comes up in Leo XIV’s bio: he apparently shielded an Augustinian priest who was credibly accused of sexual abuse against minors in 2000.

Certainly much more will be coming out shortly about the new pope. I’m just writing this because nothing else was up yet; if more and better has come out by the time I post it, I may delete…

In the meantime, here’s hoping for the best. It certainly could have been worse.