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The popes · No. 267 of 267

Leo XIV

A Chicago-born Augustinian, a missionary in Peru, and the 267th successor of Peter.

Pope 2025

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Pope Leo XIV in white, smiling, outdoors.

Edgar Beltrán, The Pillar, 2025. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Home / The popes / Leo XIV

Rome, 8 May 2025

On the second day of the conclave, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is elected pope.1

He chooses the name Leo XIV.1

He is the first pope from the United States and the first Augustinian pope in the history of the Church.

01Leo XIV

Chicago to Chulucanas

He was born in Chicago on 14 September 1955.1

He entered the Order of St Augustine in 1977 and was sent in 1985 to the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, Peru.1

He later served as Prior General of the Augustinians and as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru.1

02Leo XIV

A new chapter

He celebrated the inauguration of his Petrine ministry on 18 May 2025.1

Every pope is a new chapter in a very old book. This one is still being written.

Notes

  1. Biography of Pope Leo XIV. Holy See, official English text. vatican.va

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: Douay-Rheims, Challoner revision (public domain). Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an error.