Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native with French, Italian, and Spanish descent, has become the first American Pontiff and the 267th pope. He chose the papal name Pope Leo XIV and made his first appearance as the new leader of Catholic Church on Thursday (May 9). The new Pontiff waved his hands to the crowd, who were cheering, and chanting at St. Peter’s Square.
Born the youngest child of Louis Marius Prevost and Mildred Martínez in Chicago on September 14, 1955, Robert Prevost spent his childhood and adolescence with his loved ones. He grew up with his two brothers — Louis Martín and John Joseph — in the Windy City. The future Pontiff, 69, attended St. Mary of the Assumption Church with his mother Mildred Martínez and siblings.
From a humble beginning, a career ministering to the poor, and a life spreading faith, here is the journey of Pope Leo XIV from an altar boy to the leader of Catholic Church.
A Humble Beginning
Robert Prevost started his journey in the church as an altar boy in a nearby parish. He attended Catholic school and minor seminary school of the Augustinian Fathers. He studied philosophy and earned a Degree in Mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania in 1977. Robert Prevost completed his theological education from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1981. After completing his study on Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, he was ordained as a priest on June 19, 1982, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica by Archbishop Jean Jadot.
“It was just a normal childhood. It’s kind of strange, but all three of us knew what we wanted to do very early in life. And Rob — that’s what we called him since he was little — knew he was going to be a priest from the time he could walk. A neighbor once said he was going to be pope someday. How’s that for a prognostication?” John Joseph, Prevost’s 71-year-old older brother, told the Daily Herald.
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Ministering Poor
Prevost went to the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, Piura, Peru, in 1985 and became the vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Olympia Fields, Illinois (USA). After a year, he joined the mission as director of the joint formation project for Augustinian candidates from the vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos, and Apurímac.
Over the years, Prevost became the formation director (1988–1998), and instructor for professed members (1992–1998), and in the Archdiocese of Trujillo as judicial vicar (1989–1998) and professor of Canon Law, Patristics, and Moral Theology at the Major Seminary. He was also entrusted with the pastoral care of Our Lady Mother of the Church, later established as the parish of Saint Rita (1988–1999), in a poor suburb of the city, and was parish administrator of Our Lady of Monserrat from 1992 to 1999.
Prevost became the Provincial Prior of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Chicago in 1999. The ordinary General Chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine elected him as Prior General in 2003. He was appointed the director of formation at the Saint Augustine Convent, first councilor, and provincial vicar. A year later, Pope Francis appointed him the Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo.
Spreading Faith
Two years later, he became the Bishop of Chiclayo and was elected as the second vice-president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference. During this period, Prevost served as a member of the Economic Council and president of the Commission for Culture and Education. He became a member of the Congregation for the Clergy in 2019, and a year later, he was appointed a member of the Congregation for Bishops.
Pope Francis appointed him the Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Callao. He was promoted as an Archbishop on January 30, 2023. Pope Francis was appointed as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. The pope created him a Cardinal in the Consistory in September and assigned him the Diaconate of Saint Monica.
