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From Chi-Town to Peru to the Vatican: Who is the new pope?

May 08, 2025
Riley Callanan
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV (r), US-American Robert Prevost, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican after the conclave.
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV (r), US-American Robert Prevost, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican after the conclave.

DPA / Picture Alliance

On Thursday, Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV and becoming the first American pontiff — defying widespread assumptions that a US candidate was a long shot.

Who is he? Raised in Chicago, Pope Leo served for two decades in Peru, where he worked as a missionary, parish priest, teacher, and bishop.

What does he mean for the future of the Catholic Church? The 69-year-old pope faces pivotal decisions about the church’s future — chiefly whether to continue the inclusive and reform-minded agenda of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died last month, or to chart a new course. He echoes Francis’ sentiments on immigration and devotion to the poor, but he is expected to be more conservative — especially when it comes to LGBTQ issues.

While Pope Leo may be a middle-of-the-road choice for the Catholic Church, his views on immigration put him on a crash course with the Trump administration. His X history reveals three recent posts disagreeing with how Trump — and JD Vance, in particular — have treated migrants.

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