Pope Leo XIV: Why the College of Cardinals chose the Chicago native and Augustinian to lead the church after Francis

When the 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost on May 8, 2025, appeared on the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time as Pope Leo XIV, he was cheered loudly by the huge crowd of pilgrims, tourists, local Catholics and other onlookers, who had waited hours for the first sign of white smoke and the official announcement.

As a specialist in Catholic history and ritual, I know how important this moment was for Catholics and others all over the world. A new pope brings with him a sense of excitement often mixed with uncertainty.

But the choice of the College of Cardinals came as a surprise to some. 

Prevost is the first pope from the United States, and, traditionally, the European-dominated College of Cardinals has had reservations about choosing a cardinal from the U.S. for fear of too much American influence in the church.

So, who is Prevost and what might have influenced the cardinals’ vote?

Early experiences

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Prevost joined a Catholic religious order at the age of 20: the Order of St. Augustine, called Augustinians, founded in the 13th century.

Instead of withdrawing from the world in isolated monasteries, members of this order traveled as mendicants to aid the poor as well as serve as missionaries and teachers.

Prevost studied theology both in the U.S. and in Rome and, as a newly ordained priest, spent a year in Peru. 

After a short return to the U.S. as an official of the Augustinian order in Illinois, he returned to Peru as a seminary professor to teach canon law, the legal structure of the Catholic Church. He would stay in Peru for the next 10 years.

In 1999, he became the prior – that is, the head – of the local Augustinian province in Chicago, and was later elected prior of the worldwide Augustinian order. 

This gave him a truly global experience, since the Augustinians had some 50 communities spread across every continent.

In 2015, Pope Francis appointed him bishop for the diocese of Chiclayo in Peru. 

In 2019, Francis appointed him a member of several important Vatican dicasteries, or departments, where he became very familiar with the central church administration. 

Most importantly, he served as prefect – or chairman – on the Dicastery for Bishops.

In fact, because of his lengthy pastoral experience in Peru and service at the Vatican, some commentators had noted before Prevost was chosen that, if the cardinals were to elect an American pope, it would be him. 

His service on the Dicastery for Bishops was considered especially important, since members play a key role in selecting new bishops.

Global church

During the 20th century, especially after the Second Vatican Council – a series of meetings of the world’s bishops to modernize the church, ending in 1965 – the popes began to name cardinals from other parts of the world that were previously considered to be on the periphery of the Catholic Church.

And this led to popes being chosen from outside of Italy for the first time in centuries. 

Pope St. John Paul II was Polish and the first non-Italian pope since the 16th century. 

Pope Benedict XVI was another non-Italian, born in Germany, who had served as a Vatican official. 

Pope Francis was born in South America to parents who were Italian-born immigrants to Argentina.

The College of Cardinals, which had few representatives from other continents until recently, is now much more international. 

Some 80 percent of the cardinal-electors were named by Francis, many from countries that had never before had a cardinal.

In reviewing his record, the cardinal-electors might have taken a number of factors into account.

Prevost would be an effective administrator as head of the church, and was an expert in church canon law. 

He had decades of experience doing pastoral work in South America, as well as in North America. 

And as prior general of the entire Augustinian Order, he would likely have traveled widely to visit many of the communities he supervised.

Papacy under Leo

The new pope appeared on the Vatican balcony wearing the traditional papal garments: white cassock, short red cape, decorated red and gold stole, and golden cross hanging around his neck.

Francis, on the other hand, had appeared dressed in the plain white cassock of a pope.

Certainly, he had not chosen the simplicity of Francis. Was this a sign that he would be more of a traditionalist?

His choice of a papal name, I believe, could indicate a different point of view. Pope Leo XIII wrote a groundbreaking encyclical in 1891, “Rerum Novarum,” subtitled “On Dignity and Labor.”

In this he stressed the rights of workers to unionize and criticized the conditions in which they worked and lived. 

He also championed other rights the ordinary worker deserved from their bosses and from their government.

In his first remarks from the balcony, offering a glimpse into the direction of his papacy, Leo XIV stressed the role of Catholics and the church as peacemakers and bridge-builders, in dialogue with other religious traditions and cultures. 

His first words were “Peace be with you all,” describing this peace as “a disarmed peace, a disarming peace.” He further urged Catholics to act together “without fear … united with one another … to build bridges” through dialogue and outreach – to bring peace to the world.

He may not follow exactly in Francis’ footsteps, but he will likely continue walking in the same direction.

Joanne M. Pierce is a Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States