Pope Leo XIV
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost—now known as Pope Leo XIV—is the first pope from the United States. The 69-year-old from Chicago is recognized as a leader with global experience. He spent much of his career as a missionary in Peru and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments.
Pope Leo studied at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers near Holland, Michigan.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977, followed by a Master of Divinity degree from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982. He later obtained his licentiate in canon law in 1984 and a doctorate in the same field in 1987, both from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He can speak English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese, and can read Latin and German.
Leo XIV is a member of a religious order named after the famous African saint, Augustine of Hippo. He was the major superior of the Augustinian Order.
Louisiana Creole expert Jari Honora has traced Prevost’s ancestry to the Black community of New Orleans. According to Honora, his maternal ancestors lived in the Crescent City before migrating to Chicago in the early 20th century. Leo XIV is not known to have publicly commented on having African ancestry, which is part of a mixed heritage that also includes French, Italian, and Spanish roots. According to the U.S. Census, Prevost’s mother, the late Mildred Martinez, was the mixed-race daughter of Black property owners, Haitian-born Joseph Martinez and New Orleans native Louise Baquié, a Creole. As such, Leo XIV could be considered the first Black pope in the history of the Catholic Church, though it is unclear how he identifies racially.
“It’s more complicated than that,” Honora told Black Catholic Messenger. “I think that a person can be of Black ancestry or have Black roots, but to identify as Black, I think, is all about the lived experience.”
Let us pray for our Pope!