The News
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been chosen as the new pope and head of the 1.4 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church, choosing the name Pope Leo XIV.
Leo’s selection is historic: He is the first American pope, and the first Augustinian. He also speaks five languages and has spent two-thirds of his life outside the US, serving as a cardinal in Europe and Latin America.
“A private man with a reserved style,” Leo is known for his international experience, work ethic, language skills, and time spent picking global bishops, qualities which likely helped him overcome a long-standing reluctance among cardinals to vote for an American, the National Catholic Reporter noted.
Leo is expected to continue Francis’ legacy of “synodality,” which emphasizes direct engagement with the broader church community: In his first words as pope, Leo said: “Peace be with you.”