Europe digital editor
EPAEven earlier than his identify was introduced from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, the crowds under have been chanting “Viva il Papa” – Lengthy dwell the Pope.
Robert Prevost, 69, would be the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter and he will probably be often known as Leo XIV.
He’s the primary American to fill the position of Pope, though he’s thought of as a lot a cardinal from Latin America due to the various years he spent as a missionary in Peru, earlier than turning into a bishop there.
Born in Chicago in 1955 to folks of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Prevost served as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1982. Though he moved to Peru three years later, he returned usually to the US to function a pastor and a previous in his house metropolis.
He has Peruvian nationality and is fondly remembered as a determine who labored with marginalised communities and helped construct bridges.
He spent 10 years as an area parish pastor and as a trainer at a seminary in Trujillo in northwestern Peru.
In his first phrases as Pope, Leo XIV spoke fondly of his predecessor Francis.
“We nonetheless hear in our ears the weak however all the time brave voice of Pope Francis who blessed us,” he mentioned.
“United and hand in hand with God, allow us to advance collectively,” he informed cheering crowds.
He additionally spoke of his position within the Augustinian Order. He was 30 when he moved to Peru as a part of an Augustinian mission.
Francis made him Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru a 12 months after turning into Pope.
Getty PhotosHe’s well-known to cardinals due to his high-profile position as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Latin America which has the vital job of choosing and supervising bishops.
He turned archbishop on the similar time in January 2023 and inside a number of months Francis made him a cardinal.
As 80% of the cardinals who took half within the conclave have been appointed by Francis, it’s not all that stunning that somebody like Prevost was elected, even when he was solely lately appointed.
What are Pope Leo’s views?
He will probably be seen as a determine who favoured the continuity of Francis’ reforms within the Catholic Church.
Prevost is believed to have shared Francis’ views on migrants, the poor and the setting.
As cardinal, he has not shied away from difficult the views of US Vice-President JD Vance.
He reposted a publish on social media platform X which was vital of the Trump administration’s deportation of a US resident to El Salvador, and shared a vital remark piece written a few TV interview given by Vance to Fox Information.
“JD Vance is improper: Jesus would not ask us to rank our love for others,” learn the publish, repeating the headline from the commentary on the Nationwide Catholic Reporter web site.
Though he’s an American, and will probably be totally conscious of the divisions throughout the Catholic Church, his Latin American background additionally represents continuity after a Pope who got here from Argentina.
The Vatican described him because the second pope from the Americas, after Pope Francis, in addition to the the primary Augustinian pope.
Throughout his time in Peru he has not escaped the sexual abuse scandals which have clouded the Church, nevertheless his diocese fervently denied he had been concerned in any tried cover-up.
Earlier than the conclave, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni mentioned that in gatherings of the School of Cardinals within the days earlier than the conclave they emphasised the necessity for a pope with “a prophetic spirit able to main a Church that doesn’t shut in on itself however is aware of easy methods to exit and convey mild to a world marked by despair”.
