Who is Pope Leo XIV? American Cardinal Robert Prevost is the new pope
After less than 24 hours of seclusion in the Vatican, cardinals ended the 2025 papal conclave with the election of a new pontiff. The man chosen, Cardinal Robert Prevost, will be known as Pope Leo XIV — the first pope ever from the United States.
Here's what to know about him.
Where is Pope Leo XIV from?
Pope Leo XIV was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955. He is the first U.S. pope in the church's history, and is also a citizen of Peru, where he worked for many years.
CBS News Chicago reports he grew up in south suburban Dolton and has two brothers. A woman who knew him in childhood says the Prevost family was very active in their church.
"His family was very, very devout Catholics. I will say that. The mom and dad both were," Linda Jorsch told the station. "They never missed church, and they were very active within our parish. His mom was like a member of the Altar & Rosary Society. They were lectors in their church — very active, very devout family."
He graduated from Villanova University in Pennsylvania with a degree in mathematics, then studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago, where he earned a Master's of Divinity.
When he was 27, he was sent to Rome to study, and he was ordained as a priest in 1982. He went on to earn a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
"My experience of Cardinal Prevost was that he's not a showboat." a seminary classmate, Father Mark R. Francis, CSV, provincial of the Viatorians in the United States, told CBS News Chicago. "He's very calm, but extremely intelligent, and extremely compassionate."
Pope Leo XIV has voted in U.S. elections — and weighed in on Trump administration
The new pope is registered to vote in the Chicago suburbs, and voting records obtained by CBS News show he's voted in several general elections — along with both Democratic and Republican primaries.
He voted in the 2024 general election, as well as in the 2012, 2008, 2004 and 2000 cycles, according to the records. He also cast ballots in the 2016 and 2012 Republican presidential primaries, and in the 2008 and 2010 Democratic primaries.
The now-pope has shared posts about politics on his X account for years, in some cases reposting criticisms of the Trump administration's stances on immigration.
At one point, he shared an article headlined, "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others." The article criticized the Catholic vice president for claiming Christians can prioritize love for family, then neighbors, their community, fellow citizens and, lastly, the world.
What is Pope Leo XIV's background in the church?
After his ordination, Prevost went to work as a missionary Peru. He returned to the U.S. for a few years and then went back to Peru, where he ran an Augustinian seminary in Trujillo.
In 2014, he was appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru by Pope Francis, according to the Vatican. A year later, he became a bishop.
Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2023.
Before becoming pope, Prevost, who is 69, was the head of the church's Dicastery for Bishops, meaning he oversaw the selection of new bishops.
Overall, he's considered a centrist, but on many social issues he's seen as progressive, embracing marginalized groups like Francis, who championed migrants and the poor. But Prevost opposes ordaining women as deacons, for instance, so he's seen as conservative on church doctrine.
"He kept a low profile on the most contentious, nerualgic, sensitive, controversial issues" facing the church, said CBS News papal contributor Francis X. Rocca.
Pope Leo XIV congratulated by presidents, Chicago mayor
President Trump posted a message on social media congratulating the first U.S.-born pope.
"Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!" he wrote.
Former President Joe Biden, who is Catholic, tweeted: "Habemus papam - May God bless Pope Leo XIV of Illinois. Jill and I congratulate him and wish him success."
Former President Barack Obama also shared his best wishes for "a fellow Chicagoan." "Michelle and I send our congratulations to a fellow Chicagoan, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. This is a historic day for the United States, and we will pray for him as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church and setting an example for so many, regardless of faith," Obama wrote.
In Prevost's hometown, many people celebrated his election, with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson tweeting: "Everything dope, including the Pope, comes from Chicago!"
"Congratulations to the first American Pope Leo XIV! We hope to welcome you back home soon," Johnson wrote.
Why did Pope Leo XIV choose his name?
The first act of a new pope after he's elected is to choose a new name. This is to signify that his becoming pontiff is akin to a second birth, the Vatican said.
Cardinal Prevost chose the papal name Leo, one of the more popular choices in history, which has been used by 13 previous popes. The most recent one, Pope Leo XIII, served from 1878 to 1903.
"The name Leo harkens back to Pope Leo the Great," CBS News papal contributor Candida Moss explained. Also known as Pope Leo I, his papacy was from 440 to 461 and included a famous meeting with Attila the Hun where Leo dissuaded him from attacking Rome.
"What does this mean for our new pope? Well, it might mean that he too is going to stand up to oppressive political forces in the world," Moss said.
She noted that Leo I was also known as "a great intellectual and theological reformer."
Bishop Robert Barron, of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, also saw it as an homage to Leo XIII and called it "very significant."
Leo XIII was a "great 19th century pope," Barron told CBS News. "When the revolutions in the 18th century happened, and the philosophical revolutions of the 19th century, the church initially said 'no' to much of that. Leo represents a very nuanced, intelligent engagement with modernity — not caving into it, not saying yes completely, but not saying no — using the resources of our own traditions to engage modernity creatively. That makes him a bridge figure."
The name a new pope chooses often reflects attributes they hope to embody in their papacy.
It will "indicate a certain spirit and direction and vision of the new pope," said Dennis Doyle, a theologian and professor emeritus of religious studies at the University of Dayton.
Pope Francis, for example, was the first pope in history to take that name, a nod to St. Francis of Assisi. In Catholic tradition, St. Francis of Assisi had a mystical vision of Jesus, who told him to rebuild his church. He also renounced his wealth and founded the Franciscan order of friars in 1290.
