What do we know about Robert Prevost, the new Pope?
CBC
Robert Prevost, the choice of the world's Catholic cardinals to serve as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church, is the first Pope from the United States and a relative unknown on the global stage.
Aged 69 and originally from Chicago, Prevost has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and became a cardinal only in 2023. He has given few media interviews.
He takes the papal name Leo XIV, and succeeds Pope Francis, who had led the Church since 2013.
In his first words as Pope, from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Leo said, "Peace be with you all," addressing a cheering crowd in fluent Italian. He also spoke in Spanish during his brief address but did not say anything in English.
Leo thanked Francis in his speech and repeated his predecessor's call for a church that is engaged with the modern world and "is always looking for peace, charity and being close to people, especially those who are suffering." He emphasized a message of peace, dialogue and missionary evangelization.
Unlike Francis, who spurned much of the trappings of the papacy, Prevost wore a traditional red papal garment over his white cassock.
Rev. Mark Francis, a friend of Prevost since the 1970s, told Reuters the cardinal was a firm supporter of his predecessor's papacy, and especially of the late pontiff's commitment to social justice issues.
"He was always friendly and warm and remained a voice of common sense and practical concerns for the Church's outreach to the poor," said Francis, who attended seminary with Prevost and later knew him when they both lived in Rome in the 2000s.
"He has a wry sense of humour, but was not someone who sought the limelight," said Francis, who leads the U.S. province of the Viatorian religious order.
Prevost first served as a bishop in Chiclayo, in northwestern Peru, from 2015 to 2023, and became a Peruvian citizen in 2015, so he has dual nationalities.
Pope Francis brought him to Rome that year to head the Vatican office in charge of choosing which priests should serve as Catholic bishops across the globe, meaning he has had a hand in selecting many of the world's bishops.
While U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance were quick to congratulate the new Pope Thursday, Prevost's views may put him at odds with the administration.
In February, responding to Vance's suggestion that there are different hierarchies of Christian love — family, then nation, then the rest of the world — Prevost posted on X, "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others." He also shared an article that month that was critical of current U.S. immigration policies.
Back in 2017, during Trump's first term as president, he shared a post from a Jesuit priest that was critical of banning Syrian refugees. "What an immoral nation we are becoming. Jesus weeps," the post reads.
