Robert Francis Prevost has been elected as the first American leader of the Catholic Church and will take on the name Pope Leo XIV.

The Chicago-born Prevost, 69, is a prefect of the Vatican’s powerful dicastery for bishops and had been in charge of vetting nominations for bishops around the world.

He has extensive experience in Peru, first as a missionary and then archbishop.

Pope Francis had an eye on him for years, sending him to run the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014. He held that position until 2023, when Francis brought him to Rome for his final role before today’s vote.

Who is Robert F Prevost?

Date of Birth: September 14, 1955

Nationality: American and Peruvian

Position: Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops; president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America under Francis

Experience: Archbishop of Chiclayo, Peru; head of the Augustinian religious order

Made a cardinal by: Francis

Francis brought Prevost, 69, to the Vatican in 2023 to serve as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. As a result, Prevost had a prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals had.

One strike against him, however, was that he’s American, and there had long been a taboo against a US pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States in the secular sphere. But Prevost, a Chicago native, was also considered a first because he’s also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.

Prevost was also twice elected prior general, or top leader, of the Augustinian religious order, the 13th century order founded by St Augustine. Francis clearly had an eye on him for years, moving him from the Augustinian leadership back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and later archbishop of Chiclayo.

He remained in that position, acquiring Peruvian citizenship in 2015, until Francis brought him to Rome in 2023 to assume the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. In that job he would have kept in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in the part of the world that counts still counts the most Catholics.

Ever since he arrived in Rome, Prevost has kept a low public profile, but he was said to be well known to the men who count.

Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope. In early 2025, Francis again showed his esteem by appointing Prevost to the most senior rank of cardinals, suggesting he would at least be Francis’ choice in an any future conclave.