Who is Pope Leo XIV, the US cardinal Robert Prevost who has just been introduced as the new Pope

Pope Leo XIV is the 267th pope and appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to greet the crowd.

The new pope is revealed as Robert Prevost of the US, the first American pontiff in history. He will be known as Leo XIV.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States has been elected the 267th pope and stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Prevost, 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is the first ever pope from the United States. He will be known as Leo XIV.

A leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.

He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023. Prevost also holds a Peruvian passport and has been a Peruvian citizen since 2015.

In an interview with Vatican News shortly after he became the leader of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost said: “I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is.”

Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was a Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops is considered a highly capable and experienced leader.

He serves in the vital role as leader of the powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments, assessing candidates and making recommendations to the pope.

Born in Chicago, he is a member of the Augustinian religious order – of which he went on to lead as global superior – and spent many years working in Peru.

He was later Bishop of Chicalayo, Peru, before being chosen by Francis to lead the Vatican’s bishop office.

 While it is often said cardinal electors would always shy away from choosing a pope from the US due to America’s global political influence, Prevost’s long experience in Peru may help mitigate that.