Robert Prevost, an missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first pope from the United States in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.
Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious order, took the name Leo XIV.
In his first words as Pope Francis’ successor, uttered from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo said, “Peace be with you,” and emphasized a message of peace, dialogue and missionary evangelization. He wore the traditional red cape of the papacy — a cape that Francis had eschewed on his election in 2013.
Prevost had been a leading candidate for the papacy except, but there had long been a taboo against a U.S. pope, given the country’s geopolitical power already wielded in the secular sphere. But Prevost, a Chicago native from South Holland, was seemingly eligible because he’s also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.
Here is a photo collection of Pope Leo XIV:
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MAY 8: The newly elected Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV is seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on May 8, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Cardinal Robert Prevost will be known as Pope Leo XIV. White smoke was seen over the Vatican early this evening as the Conclave of Cardinals took just two days to elect the new Pontiff after the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
CORRECTS TO LEO, NOT LEONE – Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica after his election, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
ope Leo XIV appears on the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV appears on the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MAY 8: The newly elected Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV is seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on May 8, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Cardinal Robert Prevost will be known as Pope Leo XIV. White smoke was seen over the Vatican early this evening as the Conclave of Cardinals took just two days to elect the new Pontiff after the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
White smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
People wait for the smoke billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, where 133 cardinals are gathering on the first day of the conclave, indicating that a successor of late Pope Francis was elected or not, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Faithful hold a banner reading “Up with the pope”, after white smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – APRIL 19: US cardinal Robert Francis Prevost attends the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on April 19, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – SEPTEMBER 30: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY – NO MERCHANDISING). Pope Francis appoints as new cardinal U.S-born prelate prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, Robert Francis Prevost during the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of new Cardinal at St. Peter’s Square on September 30, 2023 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis holds a consistory for the creation of 21 new cardinals, the consistory falls before the start of the Synod on Synodality, set to take place in October. (Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
VATICAN, VATICAN CITY, SEPTEMBER 30:
New cardinal Robert Francis Prevost pose for pictures at the end of the consistory during which he received the biretta hat from Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican City Vatican, on September 30, 2023. 21 new cardinals, three of them over eighty, therefore neither electors nor eligible in a future conclave for the election of the new pontiff, were created by Pope Francis in the ninth consistory of his pontificate. (Photo by Isabella Bonotto/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Pope Francis elevates to cardinal US prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops Robert Francis Prevost during a consistory to create 21 new cardinals at St. Peter’s square in The Vatican on September 30, 2023. Pope Francis elevates 21 clergymen from all corners of the world to the rank of cardinal — most of whom may one day cast ballots to elect his successor. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
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