Short Biography of Pope Leo XIV (Robert Francis Prevost)
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955, is the first Augustinian Pope and the second Pope from the Americas. Before his election as the 267th Bishop of Rome on 8 May 2025, he served as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.
He grew up in a Catholic family and studied at Villanova University, earning a degree in mathematics and philosophy. He later entered the Order of Saint Augustine, professing vows in 1978.
After studying theology in Chicago and canon law in Rome, he was ordained a priest in 1982. Much of his ministry was spent in Peru, where he served as a missionary, teacher, parish priest, and later as a bishop. The document notes that he worked in communities marked by poverty and served as a judicial vicar, seminary professor, and parish leader.
Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Chiclayo in 2015 and later called him to Rome to lead the Dicastery for Bishops. He was made a Cardinal in 2023 and participated in major Church events, including the Synod on Synodality.
His episcopal motto, “In Illo uno unum” (“In the One Christ, we are one”), reflects his Augustinian spirituality and his commitment to unity in the Church.
