Robert Francis Prevost, 69 years old, will be the 267th occupant of the throne of Saint Peter and will be known as Leo XIV.
Prevost, 69 years old, became on Thursday the first pope originating from the United States in history, is a man who listens and a man of synthesis, situated between moderates, a connoisseur of the terrain and also of the Vatican’s „cogs.”
„God loves us, God loves all of you, and evil will not prevail,” he said in his first unifying speech, seeking to provide reassurance in the face of a world in full change, torn by wars, notes AFP, cited by News.ro.
He urged for "building bridges through dialogue, through meeting, uniting us all to be one people, always in peace."
A cardinal from the "peripheries," appreciated by Francis
Created a cardinal in 2023 by Francis, who is at the origin of his rise to the Vatican, he was, before being elected Pope, a member of seven dicasteries - equivalent to ministries - at the Vatican.
Robert Francis Prevost led the powerful Dicastery of Bishops, which made him a highly listened-to advisor of his predecessor in appointing prelates.
Francis particularly appreciated this man often described as discreet and reserved, who immersed himself for years in the "peripheries," these distant or neglected territories of the Church.
It seems that Prevost is very close to Francis's vision regarding the environment, sensitivity to the poor and migrants. "The bishop must not be a little prince who stays in his kingdom," he said in 2024, as Sky News recalls.
He also supported Pope Francis's position to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion. However, he showed limited support for Francis's decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.
Originally from Chicago, Monsignor Prevost spent 20 years in Peru, where he carried out missionary work and became Archbishop-Bishop Emeritus in Chiclayo, in the northern part of the country, to which he conveyed a thought in Spanish.
Prevost also holds Peruvian citizenship.
However, within the Curia, the Vatican government, he is reputed to be a moderate, capable of reconciling different viewpoints - a change from the personal exercise of power, potentially abrasive, of Francis.
Vatican watchers made him their favorite among American cardinals ahead of the election, based on his field experience, global vision, and ability to navigate the Vatican bureaucracy.
As a cardinal, Prevost did not shy away from challenging the opinions of American Vice President JD Vance, as noted by BBC.
He reposted a post on the social media platform X criticizing the deportation by the Trump administration of an American resident to El Salvador, and shared a critical comment written about a TV interview given by Vance to Fox News.
"JD Vance is mistaken: Jesus does not ask us to categorize our love for others," reads the post echoing the title of the comment on the National Catholic Reporter website.
"We cannot stop, we cannot go back"
His profound knowledge of canon law makes him reassuring in the eyes of conservative cardinals who aspire to give greater attention to theology.
After the death of Francis, he stated that "there is still much to be done" within the Church.
"We cannot stop, we cannot go back. We must see what the Holy Spirit wants for the Church of today and tomorrow, because the world today, in which the Church lives, is not the same world as ten or 20 years ago," he declared in April.
"The message is always the same (...), but the means to reach today's people, the young, the poor, politicians are different," he estimated.
These positions foreshadow a pontificate marked by a change in form but continuity in substance.
Replacing a cardinal accused of sexual assault
Born on September 14, 1955, Monsignor Prevost studied at a small seminary of the Order of Saint Augustine, entering in 1977.
With a degree in theology, he also holds a diploma in mathematics.
Ordained a priest in 1982, he was sent two years later as a missionary to Peru, a country where he would stay for many years.
He returned to Chicago in 1999 as the provincial superior of the Augustinians in the Midwest and became the prior general in 2001.
In 2014, Pope Francis appointed him as the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru.
In 2023, he was appointed to the strategic position at the Dicastery of Bishops, succeeding the Canadian cardinal Marc Ouellet, accused of sexual assault and who resigned due to age.