Christoph Strack, Deutsche Welle

This election is a sensation — even though Robert Prevost`s name had been dropped time and time again as a possible successor to the late pope Francis. For the first time, a candidate from the United States has been elected head of the Catholic Church.

In times of US President Donald Trump and his "America First" agenda, an all-American pope, with US and Peruvian citizenship, is now assuming the powerful lead of the Catholic Church.

Prevost, 69, who chose the name Leo XIV over a hundred years after the last pontiff to take this name, originally hails from Chicago, where he was born on September 14, 1955.

Following his schooling, first degree and ordination as a priest in 1982, he left the US and never really returned there for any extended period of time. Prevost studied and completed his doctorate in Rome.

Who is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV?
The new pope has been a member of the Order of St. Augustine since 1977. This order was founded in the 13th century and today focuses on pastoral care and educational work. For over ten years, from 1985 onward, he was active in a number of functions for the order in Peru, at times he was also a professor of theology, or, more recently, a provincial superior of the Augustinians. 

In 2001, he moved to Rome and became Prior General of the Augustinian order. There he resided in an impressive complex just beyond the colonnades of St. Peter`s Square. Incidentally, the fact that various television stations made use of the complex`s various roof terraces for live broadcasting during the conclave will certainly do the order`s coffers a lot of good.

But Prevost`s path was set to take him to Peru again,  to one of the poorest, if not the poorest, parts of the country. Pope Francis sent him to Chiclayo in November 2014, first as Apostolic Administrator, then as local bishop.

Peru has seen various ecclesiastical problems in recent decades, as it is far away from Rome and the country`s church is occasionally under the influence of reactionary US forces. Francis would not have sent anyone to Peru that he wanted to get rid of in Rome.

Keeping close ties with the Vatican
In 2019 and 2020, Pope Francis made Prevost a member of two important Roman congregations. This meant that the bishop maintained regular contact with the Vatican.

The next step came at the end of January 2023: Prevost became Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops (an important role in a church in which many seek to build a career) and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. At his last consistory in December 2024, Francis appointed Prevost as a cardinal.

Somewhat surprisingly, the final rung of the ecclesiastical career ladder followed just five months later when the cardinals elected him pope. Italian newspapers had already listed him as a candidate in advance, praising him as an "American mediator" who — according to the newspaper La Stampa –— could become the "surprise of the conclave." The cleric combines "doctrinal rigor, pastoral compassion and a missionary vision of the Gospel," it wrote.

Will he continue Francis` policies?
The election of Prevost is certainly not a departure from the past years under the late Pope Francis. In fact, he’s expected to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps in many ways – especially on social issues. 

But on some matters, Prevost took a firmer stance than his predecessor. On the controversial issue of the ordination of women as priests, Prevost cautioned that the Church must be different from society.

"Clericalizing women doesn’t necessarily solve a problem," he argued. "It might make a new problem."

His predecessor Bergoglio often seemed like a foreign body within the Vatican system, a fact that made many outsiders appreciate him all the more. Prevost, however, is someone who knows the system from the inside and who insists on it being upheld.

 Against this backdrop, it remains to be seen how closely he will follow or deviate from his predecessor’s lead.

Important meetings await
The new pope already has several key dates ahead of him, as set by the calendar and political decisions he inherited from his predecessor. Of course, being an absolute ruler, Pope Leo XIV could decide against them, but that wouldn`t match Prevost`s style.

For one, the 1,700th anniversary of the council of Nicaea is coming up in late May. It’s an important event for all the churches of Christianity. It marks the date when, in 325, long before any schism appeared in Christianity, the central Christian creed was formulated.

The late Pope Francis and Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Barthlomew of Constantinople had long planned to travel to Nicaea together. The city, now called Iznik, is located in Turkey, southeast of Istanbul.

Then, there`s the unusual canonization of Carlo Acutis (1991 – 2006), the teenage boy who died of leukemia and became known as "God’s influencer." Because of Francis` death, it was postponed. It had originally been planned for April 27, and Pope Leo XIV is almost certain to reschedule it soon.

The more relevant question, however, will be how Pope Leo XIV handles one of Francis’ theological and ecclesiastical core projects: the Synod on Synodality. Even during his final illness, just about a month before his death, the Vatican — with the pontiff’s approval — had announced the extension of this reform project until October 2028.

At the same time, he issued a concrete timeline of prayer and consultations for dioceses worldwide to follow, leading up to a final "ecclesial assembly" in Rome in three years.

A shadow hangs over the papacy
It remains to be seen just how narrowly or broadly Leo XIV will interpret these guidelines. Prevost was one of the 55 cardinals in the papal conclave who also took part in the 2023 and 2024 synods.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV waves to the huge crowd from the balcony of St. Peter`s Basilica at the Vatican
But at the time, he was the topic of much talk for a different reason: a formal complaint has been filed against him for covering up sexual abuse within the Church. On Wednesday, shortly before the cardinals assembled in the Sistine Chapel, the US-based international Survivor Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) reaffirmed their allegations against a total of six prominent cardinals. Prevost was one of them.

Without disclosing details, Prevost denied the accusation. Now, he’s been elected pope.

Peter Isely, SNAP’s program director, had cautioned against selecting one of those his network accused as Francis’ successor. The new pope, he stated, should not be compromised, and should finally take the "zero tolerance" approach pledged by the popes before him. Following the announcement of Prevost`s election as Pope Leo XIV, the SNAP network issued a public response: "The church has no credibility to speak on children`s rights while it continues to shelter predators and shield bishops from accountability."

Addressing the new pope directly, it continued: "You can end the abuse crisis — the only question is, will you?"