From Father Prevost to Leo XIV: Where did he study? What is his origin? What were his first words as Pope?

Pope Leo XIV, on his first outing from the Vatican, visits the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Counsel in the small town of Genazzano

He is of Spanish descent —but also of French and Italian — as reflected in his surnames, but born in the United States. He studied at Villanova University of the Order of Saint Augustine, located in the United States and named after the Spanish Augustinian saint Thomas of Villanova. He entered the Order as a novice at the age of 22, during the final months of Pope Paul VI's papacy, and was ordained five years later, at the beginning of Pope John Paul II's papacy, the first non-Italian Pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, who, despite being Dutch, carried out his ecclesiastical duties in Spain. He mentioned Pope Francis in his first public address from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to thank him for his legacy, and he appeared dressed in surplice, mozetta, and stole with which the previous pontiffs appeared. He spoke in Italian, Spanish, and Latin. And he may have been the pope whose initial speech was the longest, mixing improvisation with prepared text as a show of warmth and clarity.

He is Leo XIV, the new pope who, upon entering the Conclave, was the Augustinian Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost Martínez (Chicago, 1955).

Pope John Paul II with a very young and newly ordained Fr. Robert Prevost OSA

He has spent 23 years in Peru, where he performed missionary and episcopal duties, and whose citizenship he shares with the United States. He served as the Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine for twelve years and Pope Francis appointed him as bishop in 2014, with his consecration taking place in Chiclayo (Peru) at the hands of his compatriot James Patrick Green. In 2023, Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. In that same year, he was called to serve also in the Dicastery for Evangelisation, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Eastern Churches, for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and for Culture and Education, in addition to being created a cardinal.

In his first words, he addressed several significant topics that touch on social justice and the need for unity and peace. His name takes us back to the first pope to be filmed with a movie camera, who led the Church from the 19th to the 20th century, and who published one of the most significant encyclicals of recent times: Rerum novarum. Leo XIII was not only one of the pontiffs who occupied the papal seat for the longest time, he was the first pope without the temporal power that his predecessors held for over a millennium. On the other hand, Leo XIII was elected pope a couple of weeks before turning 68; Leo XIV is now 69 years old. But the name Leo could also have other meanings.

UAFA members in 2012, including Fr. Franz Klein OSA, General Curia economist and a good friend of Cardinal Prevost

Two American popes, mission companions

The new pope is the first Augustinian pope and, addressing the faithful after accepting the responsibility of wearing the shoes of St. Peter, he said: "Peace be with you all." It was not just the wish of a new pope in a time of wars; as he himself has emphasised, it is the first thing that Christ—the "Good Shepherd who gave his life for the flock of God," adds Leo—says to us after his Resurrection, and in this Easter season, it is the message that defines Christian life. "A disarmed peace that disarms, humble and persevering," defines Leo XIV the peace of Christ. A peace that refers to God's unconditional love for all people. In his speech, in addition to explicit references to Francis, there were also nods to the two popes John Paul: "without fear", quoting the words of the Resurrected Lord. His inclusive discourse, speaking of bridges, dialogue, and encounter, looks "forward," and addresses the needs of today's world. He invited Christians to work together, to proclaim the Gospel. In a way, this implies agreement with Benedict, who called us to be "cooperators of the truth."

By speaking of his identity as an Augustinian and of Augustine of Hippo, Leo XIV implicitly mentioned the City of God to which we aspire, our ultimate Homeland. For those who know the work of the African Father of the Church, his assertion that peace is the aspiration of all of God's creatures rings true, as does his statement that it is not God who has wanted man to be the slave of man. Moreover, Leo expressed a special greeting to the Church of Rome, which is his new diocese. It opened with a greeting to Spanish speakers and directed at the same time to the universal Church: sharing the faith in Christ, and "being close to those who suffer." He also prayed to the Virgin Mary, specifically to the devotion of Pompeii, which was celebrated on the day of his election. Along with a Hail Mary in Italian, he blessed all Catholics with a plenary indulgence. He prayed to the apostles Peter and Paul in Latin, continuing with the usual litanies of the benedictio coram populo.

Here begins the journey of this new papacy with a clear Augustinian character.