On May 8, 2025, white smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 6:07 p.m., Rome time, signaling that the College of Cardinals had elected the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church: American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, who has taken the name Leo XIV.
Pope Leo, the first pontiff from the United States, was born September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He joined the Augustinian Order in 1977, making his solemn vows in 1981; four years later, he joined the Augustinian mission in Peru. From 2001 to 2013, he served as prior general of the Augustinians worldwide. Pope Francis named him bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014, and made him a cardinal in 2023, appointing him as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. The newly elected pontiff is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese, and can read Latin and German. Click here to know more about Pope Leo’s trajectory.
After the announcement of Leo XIV’s election, he came out onto the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, smiling and waving to the crowd wearing the white papal cassock, a red cape (known as mozzetta) and a red stole to give his first urbi et orbi blessing (to the city of Rome and to the world). The pope gave a moving speech in Italian and Spanish, invoking peace and pledging to work for a united Church, faithful to Christ and to the Gospel. Click here to read the full speech in English.
The Missouri Catholic Conference cheerfully celebrates our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. We encourage the faithful to pray for our first American pope, so he can guide the Church with wisdom, charity, and humility.