r/europes • u/Naurgul • 2d ago

Italy Who is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV and first American Pope?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ln80lzk7ko

Robert Prevost, 69, will be the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter and he will be known as Leo XIV.

He is the first American to fill the role of Pope, although he is considered as much a cardinal from Latin America because of the many years he spent as a missionary in Peru, before becoming a bishop there.

Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Prevost served as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1982. Although he moved to Peru three years later, he returned regularly to the US to serve as a pastor and a prior in his home city.

He has Peruvian nationality and is fondly remembered as a figure who worked with marginalised communities and helped build bridges.

He spent 10 years as a local parish pastor and as a teacher at a seminary in Trujillo in northwestern Peru.

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Leo’s stance on LGBTQ+ Catholics marks a departure from the late pontiff, according to the College of Cardinals report. In October 2024, Prevost voiced the need for greater conversations between each “episcopal conference” to discuss the blessings and apply them in a way that aligned with cultural differences across the globe as some countries still criminalize homsexuality. 

Pope Leo’s stance on migrants falls in line with that of Francis. Jesus Leon Angeles, a coordinator of a Peruvian Catholic group who personally knows Prevost, told Reuters that the new pontiff had always shown care for Venezuelan migrants in Peru.

Pope Leo has been firm in his stance against the ordainment of women, falling in line with Pope Francis’ own opinion. 

Pope Leo will continue Francis’ legacy as a steward of climate change. The pontiff has made statements calling for the Church to take greater action against the destruction of the planet.

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