By: Teagan Mack

On Thursday May 8th, 2025, white smoke appeared from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signaling the end of the papal conclave and with it, the election of a new pope.

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, was born September 14th, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois. Pope Leo XIV has two older brothers, Louis and John. They all grew heavily in the Catholic faith, and the family attended St. Mary of the Assumption parish. The Prevost family “were known at bustling St. Mary’s as dedicated and devout musicians, altar boys, lectors and volunteers.”

Pope Leo XIV will be known for many firsts. He’s the first American-born pontiff and first Augustinian pope. He is also the first pope to root for the Chicago White Sox. Not only is Pope Leo the first American and Augustinian pope, he is also the first Peruvian pope. Even though he wasn’t born in Peru, he is a naturalized citizen, and spent 20 years there serving as Apostolic Administrator.

Pope Leo XIV became a friar of Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. He did missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s. He served as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. From 2001 to 2013, he was elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine. From 2015 to 2023, he returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him perfect of the Dicastery for Bishop and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and later made him a cardinal that same year.

Pope Leo XIV went to Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum in Rome, Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and Villanova University in Pennsylvania. He graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977. In 1982, he graduated from C.T.U with a master’s degree in Divinity. In 1984 he graduated from Pontifical University with a Licentiate of Canon Law, and later graduated with a Doctor of Canon Law in 1987.

The Pope can speak several languages, English being his first. He can speak English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese and two important theological languages being Latin and German. This would put Pope Leo in the top 3 of most languages spoken through history by popes. First would be Pope John Paul II who was in papacy from 1978 to 2005, who spoke 12 different languages.

His choice of name was to honor Pope Leo XIII, who helped shape the church in the United States. He was known as one of the most influential popes in modern Catholic history, serving from 1878 to 1903. While there is no general rule for how popes pick their papal names, they are mostly picked based on personal and symbolic decisions, personal reflections, and the popes desired focus during papacy. For example, Pope John Paul I chose his name as a tribute to both Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI, then later Pope John Paul II picked his name in tribute to Pope John Paul I after he passed 33 days after elected Pope.