In the frenzied days leading up to the papal conclave following Pope Francis’s passing on April 21, speculation was rampant: would the next pope be from Africa, perhaps the first Black Pope in modern history? Or would Latin America once again lead the Church? Papal predictions are famously unreliable, and once again, the white smoke proved the pundits wrong.
Instead of an African or Asian cardinal, the Church chose a relatively unknown Augustinian from Chicago with deep missionary roots in Peru. When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost stepped onto the loggia overlooking St. Peter’s Square as Pope Leo XIV, he immediately set a different tone, speaking not in English, his native tongue, but in Spanish and Italian. This wasn’t just a linguistic flourish. It was a statement. Fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese — and proficient in Latin and German —Leo XIV is among the most linguistically adept popes in Church history. Yet his decision to forgo English in his first appearance spoke volumes: a signal of solidarity with Latin America and a style rooted more in communion than communication.
Born in 1955 to a French-Italian father and Spanish-American mother, Robert Francis Prevost grew up in Chicago’s multicultural neighbourhoods. He is the first pope from the US, and the second from the Americas —after Pope Francis of Argentina — a milestone for a Church that has grown rapidly in the Western Hemisphere. After studying mathematics and philosophy at Villanova University, he entered the Augustinian order in 1977 and later earned a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
Ordained in 1982, he was soon sent to Peru, where he lived out a mission rather than a career. In Trujillo, he became not just a priest but a builder of communities. For over a decade, he led formation for Augustinian candidates, served as judicial vicar, taught theology, and ministered in poor and neglected neighborhoods. That immersion gave him a distinctly missionary spirituality — grounded in humility, solidarity, and proximity.
He was later called back to leadership: first as Provincial of the Augustinians in Chicago, then as Prior General of the global order — elected to a rare second term. Pope Francis took notice. In 2014, Prevost was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Chiclayo and soon became its bishop. By 2023, he led the powerful Dicastery for Bishops in Rome.
With nearly 80% of the College of Cardinals appointed by Francis, Leo XIV’s election is widely seen as continuity. Yet insiders suggest something more nuanced: a continuation of mission, yes — but with greater doctrinal clarity and institutional steadiness. While shaped by Francis’s pastoral style, Leo XIV is more traditionally inclined on some moral teachings. In 2012, he voiced concern over Western media “normalising practices at odds with the Gospel,” including same-sex relationships. His nuanced orthodoxy could be the centrist anchor many bishops quietly longed for — neither regression nor rupture.
Even his papal garb signaled a subtle shift. Donning the red mozzetta over his white cassock, a vestment Francis set aside, Leo XIV paid homage to tradition and governance, signaling reverence for the Ministry of Peter. His choice of name — Leo XIV — is itself a message. It recalls Pope Leo XIII, who in 1891 issued Rerum Novarum, the encyclical that founded modern Catholic social teaching. The name evokes strength, reform, and a commitment to justice rooted in doctrinal fidelity. The lion-hearted Leo XIV seems poised to continue Francis’s outreach to the peripheries, but with more institutional traction.
At just 69, Leo XIV is younger than his two predecessors at their elections — Francis at 76 and Benedict XVI at 78. He is the 267th pontiff in the Church’s history and possibly its next long-haul leader. A decade or more of his leadership could shape the Church in lasting ways, especially amid growing polarisation and secular pressure. His election recalls the long and stabilising pontificate of John Paul II, who served for over 26 years and visited more countries than any pope in history.
One looming question now: will Leo XIV be the pope to finally visit India? Despite its vast Catholic population, neither Benedict XVI nor Francis made the trip. By contrast, John Paul II visited India twice —once in 1986, then again in 1999. Leo XIV, however, is no stranger. As Prior General of the Augustinians, he visited Kochi in 2004 and again in 2006. Those past encounters with Indian Catholics have sparked hope that under this pontificate, India will no longer be a forgotten frontier but a priority in the Church’s global vision.
