Pope Leo XIV is a Villanova University alum: What we know

(WPHL) — A new pope has been named, and for Villanova University and Philadelphia, the pope might be a familiar face and name.

Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, is a class of 1977 Villanova University graduate, earning his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.

The new pope, a 69-year-old Augustinian friar, was one of the 21 new cardinals selected by Pope Francis.

According to Villanova University, Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, Illinois, and joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977.

Following his undergraduate studies at Villanova, Pope Leo XIV earned a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982 and was ordained a priest within the same year.

According to Villanova, Pope Leo XIV joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and worked in Peru until the late 1990s.

In 2014, Pope Leo XIV was named a Bishop Prevost apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru and titular bishop of Sufar by Pope Francis. According to Villanova University, he was elevated to bishop of Chiclayo in 2015 and held the position for eight years until his appointment in January as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

Pope Leo XIV was elected as the new pope on May 8, after a two-day conclave. He is the first American Pope.