Pope Leo XIV was born Robert Francis Prevost on September 14, 1955, and is—like Bishop Barron—a native of Chicago, Illinois. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Villanova University in 1977 and entered the Order of Saint Augustine (the Augustinians) the same year. He became solemnly professed in 1981 and was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982. He also earned a Master of Divinity in 1982 from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He continued his studies, this time in canon law, earning a licentiate in 1984 and doctorate in 1987, both in Rome at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum).
Impressively, between the two graduate degrees in canon law Prevost conducted missionary work in Chulucanas, Peru, from 1985–1986. The following year, he went back to Chicago to serve his Augustinian Order, overseeing vocations and acting as director of missions. In 1988, he returned to Peru (Trujillo), where he worked as a seminary professor of canon law, formation director, and judicial vicar, among other roles. He remained in Peru for a decade before returning to Chicago to serve as provincial prior of the Augustinians (1999–2001). He was then elevated to prior general and served two terms from 2001–2013.
Subsequently, Prevost again returned to Peru, first serving as apostolic administrator (2014–2015), then bishop of Chiclayo (2015–2023). Afterward, in 2024, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and ex officio president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. The Dicastery for Bishops oversees the process of selecting new bishops (excluding those in missionary territories, a duty of the Dicastery for Evangelization). In that capacity, Prevost would have been known by many bishops and cardinals throughout the world. The Dicastery for Bishops is likewise responsible for the establishment of new dioceses.
Prevost also served as a member of several other dicasteries within the Roman Curia, including for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Eastern Churches, for Institutes of Consecrated Life, for Legislative Texts, for Culture and Education, for Evangelization, and for the Clergy. Additionally, he served on the Pontifical Commission of Vatican City State. On September 30, 2023, Prevost was made a cardinal.
Due to his extended time living and ministering in Peru, Prevost obtained dual citizenship. Like Pope Francis, who hailed from South America, Pope Leo XIV is known to be concerned about environmental issues, the poor, and migrants (see the College of Cardinals Report). In light of this, his choice of the name Leo could be a sign that he plans to continue the rich heritage of modern Catholic social teaching, regularly seen as having been initiated by Pope Leo XIII’s most famous encyclical, Rerum Novarum (1891). That magisterial text was explicitly honored and expounded upon by multiple subsequent encyclicals. The titles of Quadragesimo Anno (Pius XI, 1931), Octogesima Adveniens (Paul VI, 1971), and Centesimus Annus (John Paul II, 1991) are references to their issuance forty, eighty, and one hundred years, respectively, after Rerum Novarum.
There are reasons to believe he will not merely be a Francis 2.0.
Notably, Leo XIII also wrote Aeterni Patris (1879). That encyclical was “On the Restoration of Christian Philosophy” and explicitly called for a strong foundation in the study of St. Thomas Aquinas. This kicked off a neo-scholastic/neo-Thomist revival in Catholic theology, which largely prevailed in Catholic higher education until the mid-twentieth century and which is seeing somewhat of a resurgence today. Leo XIV’s alma mater, the Angelicum, has long carried out the task of implementing this desire. (Given that Pope Leo XIV studied canon law—not philosophy or theology—at the Angelicum, this connection is perhaps less weighty but still worth considering.)
In the contemporary Church, often those deemed progressive or liberal tend to emphasize Catholic social teaching; those considered conservative or traditional tend to focus on the precision and clarity of Thomist philosophy and theology. Catholics would do well to remember that one and the same pope—Leo XIII—was behind the establishment and invigoration of both movements, which in recent decades have sadly often gone their separate ways. If Pope Leo XIV can find a way to express and actively promote both great traditions stemming from his namesake, he could be a unifying force during his pontificate.
In addition to the topics mentioned above, Leo XIV also appears to have a similar pastoral approach to his predecessor, Pope Francis. As the Catholic News Agency and the National Catholic Register report, this approach “emphasizes meeting people where they are. He has publicly stated that bishops should not act as ‘little princes sitting in their kingdoms,’” which harkens back to Pope Francis’s famous call for pastors to smell like their sheep.
On the issue of the ordination of women, then Cardinal Prevost aligned with Pope Francis’s refusal to admit women into holy orders. As journalist Courtney Mares reported during the Synod on Synodality, “Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost said this week that ‘clericalizing women’ would not solve problems in the Catholic Church.”
At the same time, the College of Cardinals Report website—a go-to source for many throughout the interregnum period—indicated Prevost was “a strong supporter of synodality. He has been a ‘vocal proponent’ of Pope Francis’ emphasis on making the Church’s structures more inclusive and participatory, seeing synodality as a way to address polarization within the Church. He connects synodality with the need for consultation and lay involvement.”
Regarding one of the most controversial issues from Pope Francis’s papacy, the issues involved in Fiducia Supplicans, Leo XIV’s pre-papal record shows some reticence. Regarding that document, the College of Cardinals Report webpage about Prevost states:
In a 2012 address, he voiced concern that Western culture promotes “sympathy for beliefs and practices that contradict the gospel,” specifically referencing the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families made up of same-sex partners and their adopted children.” However, regarding the Vatican’s 2023 document Fiducia Supplicans, which permits non-liturgical blessings for couples in irregular situations (including same-sex couples), Prevost emphasized the need for national bishops’ conferences to have doctrinal authority to interpret and apply such directives in their local contexts, given cultural differences.
It ought to be noted that the older statements made in 2012 were made long before Fiducia Supplicans. The later statement in 2023 appears to have been made in connection with the African bishops’ decision not to implement the document. As journalist Felipe Salvosa II reported, Prevost stated about the matter that “each episcopal conference needs to have a certain authority, in terms of saying, ‘how are we going to understand this in the concrete reality in which we’re living?’”
In light of the above, I think it is fair to say Leo XIV will continue to promote some core values of his predecessor. At the same time, there are reasons to believe he will not merely be a Francis 2.0. Given that he has not been as outspoken on many issues, in some ways he is an unknown quantity for the average layperson.
As with any papal election, there will be those who are disappointed, those who are elated, and those who do not know how to feel about the cardinals’ choice. No matter where one falls on that spectrum, Catholics ought to give Leo XIV a chance, not jump to rash judgments, offer him filial piety, and—above all—pray for him as he undertakes the immense responsibility of being the successor of St. Peter.