The new Pope: Robert Francis Prevost from USA

Since 2023, Prevost has been head of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, the Vatican authority that selects bishops worldwide. Now he is Pope

Close to people and now at the head of the Catholic Church: Robert Francis Prevost is the 267th pontiff. The 69-year-old archbishop from Chicago has chosen the papal name Leo XIV. He will be the first US-American to lead the 1.4 billion members of the universal church.

His choice is seen as a compromise, and at the same time as a signal of unity. Prevost combines American origins, Latin American influences and Roman leadership experience. This made him the consensus candidate of a College of Cardinals that had to overcome cultural and church-political differences.

From mathematician to pope
Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents with French-Spanish-Italian roots, Prevost initially studied mathematics before joining the Augustinian order in 1977. He was ordained a priest in Rome in 1982. He later completed a doctorate in canon law there.

From the mid-1980s, Prevost worked as a missionary in Peru. There he founded parishes, headed a seminary and was active in the training of bishops. In 2015, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Chiclayo, a diocese in the north of the country. During the political crises, he campaigned for stability.

In 2023, he was promoted to head of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops - the Vatican authority that selects bishops worldwide. The cardinal's hat followed in the same year. Despite this key role, Prevost is said to have remained reserved, not seeking the media spotlight. In church circles, he is regarded as pragmatic and moderate, writes the newspaper ‘La Repubblica’, among others.

US pope without a national agenda
Prevost stands for continuity in the spirit of Francis. He is seen as someone who listens, mediates and wants change without polarising. As the first American to sit on the Chair of Peter, he comes from a country where, according to the Vatican, around 60 per cent of the US population will be Catholic in 2024. However, Catholicism is growing dynamically today primarily in Africa and Asia and not in the West.

His long experience in Latin America characterises Prevost. In Peru, where around two thirds of the 34 million inhabitants are Catholic, the Church is deeply anchored in social and cultural life, supported by the constitution and a bilateral agreement with the Vatican.

Francis' legacy in a green handwriting
In many respects, Prevost showed closeness to the late pontiff - something that more conservative voices criticise him for. He is seen as a moderate reformer without abandoning his beliefs. His stance on environmental issues is particularly clear: like Francis, Prevost has repeatedly spoken out in favour of decisive action against climate change.

He is also considered a staunch supporter of the Synod: he has repeatedly emphasised that the Church must be more transparent and open to the voices of the faithful. This also includes strengthening the role of the laity and changing the style of church leadership - for example through more listening and less hierarchy.

At the same time, he rejects some reforms, such as the ordination of women to church offices. At the 2023 World Synod, he warned against the ‘clericalisation of women’. This is not a solution, but rather a potential new source of problems. Women already have a variety of central roles in the church.

A pope in a global field of tension
The new pope stands between North and South, between Rome and the periphery. Prevost's biography, from Chicago to Peru to the Vatican leadership makes him a mediator between cultures and generations. The world is now waiting with bated breath to see how the first US-American on the papal throne will lead the Catholic Church.

Francis Tawiah (Duisburg, Germany)