ROME, ITALY—On May 8, white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 6:09, Rome time. Church bells sound around the world. Habemus papam! “We have a Pope!” American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, of Chicago, Illinois was chosen by 133 of his peers on the second day of the Conclave. He shall take the name of Pope Leo XIV.
According to the College of Cardinals Report, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, “Pope Leo,” was born in Chicago on September 14, 1955. He is also a naturalized citizen of Peru. He entered the novitiate of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA) in 1977 and made his solemn vows in 1981.
According to the website of the Augustine Order, it is:
“Fundamentally based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ and later of Aurelius Augustine, the Bishop of Hippos (354-430 A.D.), was founded to live and promote the spirit of community as lived by the first Christian communities (Acts of the Apostles 4 32-35).”
As Pope Leo XIV rose to speak to the multitudes, he was visibly overwhelmed with gratitude. He spoke clearly and proficiently, in Italian first. “To the People of Rome,” whom he has served for years as a member of seven Vatican dicasteries, or departments, along with the Commission for the Governance (Governatorato), or Governorship of Vatican City State.
Pope Leo then spoke and prayed, just as easily, in Spanish, as prior to his time at the Vatican, he served as Archbishop of Peru. The new Pope spoke eloquently, and he prayed in unison, with those present and those watching whether it be by television, or via the internet.
He paid tribute to his predecessor, Pope Francis, indicating that he would, in some ways, walk in the steps of the late Pope.
Pope Leo hails from an order though and is reportedly more conservative in nature. For the poor, always, but not at the cost of embracing evil.
