The white smoke has billowed, and the Catholic church has a new pope – and he’s American.
Cardinals on the Vatican elected the Chicago-born Robert Prevost on Thursday to guide the church, succeeding Pope Francis, who died final month.
Prevost took the identify Leo XIV as he grew to become the primary pontiff from the USA.
“Peace be with you,” had been his first phrases as pope.
Here’s a take a look at the brand new pope and his journey from the US Midwest to the highest of the church of 1.4 billion individuals.
What’s Pope Leo’s background?
Born in Chicago in 1955 to folks of French, Italian and Spanish descent, Leo’s father was a faculty principal and his mom had levels in library science and training and was deeply concerned within the St Mary of the Assumption that the household attended.
Final week, the Chicago Sun-Times cited Leo’s associates and fellow church goers as saying that he was devoted to his religion and path to priesthood from a younger age.
Leo graduated with a level in arithmetic from the College of Villanova in Pennsylvania in 1977. He additionally studied faith on the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.
In 1982, he acquired a doctorate in church regulation from the Pontifical College of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome earlier than being despatched to serve in a Catholic mission in Peru.
Within the subsequent a long time, he rose by way of the ranks of the church as he bounced between Chicago and Peru.
Pope Francis made him the Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2015 earlier than giving him larger obligations inside the church. That very same 12 months, Prevost additionally grew to become a Peruvian citizen.
In 2023, he grew to become prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a key Catholic administrative physique, based mostly in Rome.
What’s an Augustinian?
In his first public remarks as pope, Leo launched himself as an Augustinian – an order inside the Catholic Church that follows the teachings of St Augustine of Hippo, which emphasise love, concord, humility and dedication to the religious group of the church.
The time period additionally describes people who belong to non secular orders, and Pope Leo is only one of 34 popes out of 266 to have carried out so.
Such orders are a group of Catholics, which may embody clergymen, nuns, monks and or lay individuals, devoted to a selected kind of mission and spirituality.
Pope Francis was the primary pope from the Jesuit non secular order ever, and the primary in additional than a century and a half to return from any non secular order.
What did the pope say in his first speech?
Leo prompt that he would comply with in Francis’s footsteps. The late pope was largely seen as a transformational determine who took the church in a progressive path and centered on selling the rights of the poor and marginalised.
“Allow us to preserve in our ears the weak however at all times courageous voice of Pope Francis, who blessed Rome – the pope who blessed Rome and the world that day on the morning of Easter,” Leo mentioned.
In his ultimate Easter message, days earlier than he died, Francis referred to as for peace and disarmament.
Why Leo?
With regards to popes, names matter. New pontiffs typically select new names as tribute to a saint or predecessor.
For instance, Pope Francis took the identify of St Francis of Assisi, who renounced materials items and devoted his life to the poor.
The final Leo to guide the church, Pope Leo XIII, championed the rights of employees.
“Up till that point, the church’s hierarchy tended to be recognized with the higher class, and so Leo XIII put a redirection on the church, and positively most of the popes since that point have constructed on that,” Father James Bretzke, professor of theology at John Carroll College, advised Al Jazeera.
What are his politics?
Church leaders are usually not politicians, however faith is intertwined with public affairs. Leo has given hints of his politics over time, notably in advocating for the rights of migrants.
In 2015, Leo shared an article by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, criticising then-candidate Donald Trump’s anti-immigration proposals. The column was titled: Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic.
In February, he once more appeared to criticise the Trump administration’s immigration insurance policies, taking purpose at Vice President JD Vance’s argument that folks ought to love others near them greater than strangers.
Leo shared an article proclaiming: “JD Vance is mistaken: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
The place does he stand on feminine clergymen?
The controversy over permitting ladies to be clergymen has been raging inside the Catholic Church, however Leo doesn’t appear to be in favour of the change.
“One thing that must be mentioned is also that ordaining ladies – and there’s been some ladies which have mentioned this, curiously sufficient – ‘clericalising ladies’ doesn’t essentially clear up an issue, it would make a brand new drawback,” he advised reporters in 2023.
What has he mentioned about intercourse abuse scandals?
Leo’s Augustinian Order has confronted criticism over transparency in coping with intercourse abuse instances which have rocked the church.
In 2023, Leo referred to as for specializing in the victims with regards to this challenge.
“There are locations the place good work has already been carried out for years, and the foundations are being put into observe. On the identical time, I imagine that there’s nonetheless a lot to be taught,” he advised Vatican Information in 2023.
“I’m speaking concerning the urgency and accountability of accompanying victims.”
How does he evaluate to different popes, age-wise?
At 69, Leo is youthful than his previous two predecessors after they grew to become pontiffs. Francis was 76. Benedict XVI was 78. However he’s older than John Paul II, who was 58 when he grew to become pope – one of many youngest pontiffs in fashionable historical past.
What does he do in his spare time?
He likes tennis, spending time with associates and “assembly a broad vary of various individuals”.
“I take into account myself fairly the beginner tennis participant. Since leaving Peru, I’ve had few events to practise, so I’m trying ahead to getting again on the courtroom,” he advised the Augustinian Order website in 2023.
