Less than 24 hours after the conclave began, the fumarole of the Sistine Chapel emitted the long-awaited white smoke, announcing the election of the new Pope of the Catholic Church. This is the Peruvian-born American Augustinian, Robert Prevost, who has chosen the name Leo XIV.
Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955 and began his religious life in 1977 as part of the Order of Saint Augustine. According to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, he took his vows in 1981, studied at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and was later sent to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
He was ordained a priest in 1982 and three years later was sent on his first mission to Chulucanas, in Piura. In 1988, he arrived in Trujillo to direct the joint formation project for Augustinian aspirants from the vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos, and Apurímac.
Prevost held various positions in Trujillo until 1999, when he was elected Prior Provincial of the Mother Province of Good Counsel in his native Chicago.
However, his relationship with Peru would not end there. In 2014, Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo. In that position, and as a sign of commitment to the country, he announced that he would become a Peruvian citizen.
In August 2015, he kept his promise and obtained his DNI (National Identity Document), as confirmed last Wednesday by RENIEC spokesperson Rubí Rivas on RPP radio. Now a Peruvian, Prevost was consecrated bishop of the city in September of the same year.
His tenure was notable for the closeness he maintained with the faithful and the promotion of innovative projects benefiting young people. In March 2018, he was appointed second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference. The following year, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Congregation for the Clergy, and in 2020, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Callao.
In September 2023, Pope Francis created him a cardinal and appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, one of the Vatican’s most influential bodies. In addition, Prevost was also appointed president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
