Robert Francis Prevost elected as the first American pope

At 11:08 a.m., Dallas time, white smoke emerged from above the Sistine Chapel, announcing to the world that a new pope has been elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church. A long list of candidates had been in speculation for days. Betting platforms had an Italian cardinal in the lead, with a Filipino candidate second. None had an American high on their list, as no American has ever been selected as pope.

Until today.

Robert Francis Prevost has been elected the 267^th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. It was stirring to watch his introduction to the massive crowds in St. Peter’s Square and to hear the Chicago native speak in perfect Italian and Spanish.

Prevost was previously a missionary in Peru, working as a teacher and parish priest. In 2023, Pope Francis brought him to the Vatican to head the powerful office that vets bishop nominations from around the world. As a result, he was highly prominent going into the conclave. But as an American, he was thought to be a long shot for the papacy at best.

What kind of pope will he be?

Pope Leo was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. He is also a citizen of Peru, where he served as a missionary and then an archbishop.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977, then took his solemn vows and studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago in 1982. He earned degrees in divinity and canon law, including a doctorate from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Pope Leo told the Vatican News in October 2024, “A bishop is called to serve. His authority is service.” He added that a bishop “is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom, but rather called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them, and to look for ways that he can better live the gospel message in the midst of his people.”

He is seen as a centrist overall. Like Pope Francis, he has long embraced marginalized groups. However, he also opposes ordaining women as deacons and is considered to be conservative regarding church doctrine.

What could his name signify?

When a cardinal is elected pope, he takes a papal name. In this case, the new pope chose Leo XIV. 

The first pope by this name, known today as Pope St. Leo I (the Great), reigned from AD 440–61. His chief aim was to sustain the unity of the church in the face of heresies threatening her future. 

Another notable pope to adopt the name was Leo X (1475–1521), the Medici pope who led the church when Martin Luther began his reform efforts and declared Luther a heretic before dying that same year. He also financed the building of St. Peter’s Basilica through the selling of indulgences, which prompted Luther to post his 95 Theses and sparked what became the Protestant Reformation.

However, the new pope’s choice of name seems to be a clear nod to Pope Leo XIII, who was known for his traditional doctrine combined with intellectualism. He was pope from 1878 to 1903, helping the church engage with the culture with less defensiveness but without compromising biblical authority and compassion.

What is his message to the world?

Watching the new pope speak, I was moved by the thought that no other person in human history has been able to engage as much of the world as the new pope did today. 

His leadership encompasses 1.4 billion Catholics, a larger number than ever before, and a population that rivals China and India as the largest “nations” on earth. But unlike them, his congregants live in nearly every country on the planet, and his political and cultural significance circles the globe in ways that far transcend even the church he now leads.

If you include the technological platforms of our day by which his election was broadcast, it seems likely that Pope Leo XIV is more visible as a leader than any leader has ever been.

But to what end?

In his first remarks to the world, the pope declared:

God loves us. God loves you all. And evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God.

Therefore, without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, let us go forward.

We are disciples of Christ. Christ precedes us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge to be reached by God and his love.

Help us too, then, each other, to build bridges—with dialogue, with encounter—uniting all of us to be one people, always in peace.

Then he called the church to be united, “always seeking peace, justice, always trying to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear, to proclaim the gospel, to be missionaries.”

How people will know we are Jesus’ disciples

An American who served as a missionary in Peru and then as a leader in the Vatican before ascending to its highest post calling for unity in proclaiming the gospel is a metaphor and invitation to us all.

The night before he died for humanity, Jesus prayed to his Father that his followers across all time would “be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:22–23). Earlier that night, he taught his disciples, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

Partisan divisions plague the politics of much of the West today. Geopolitical conflicts extend around the world, from India and Pakistan to Iran and the Middle East, China and Taiwan, and Russia and Ukraine. In a time when people yearn for unity and community, fighting between Christian denominations and in Christian churches pushes them further from the Savior they need so desperately.

Pope Leo XIV’s first message is therefore timely and urgent. These are days for God’s people to unite as missionaries to our culture as we proclaim the gospel in peace. 

Whatever our differences with Catholics and other Christians, let us unite in praying for the new pope, asking God to give him wisdom, courage, and direction. And let us find our own way to be “always seeking peace, justice, always trying to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ.”

Jesus modeled the servant love he called us to emulate by washing the feet of his disciples (John 13:1–17). When we stand before him one day, he will not ask any of us—including the new pope—about our title. But he will want to examine our towel.

How dirty will yours be?