He appeared at the Balcony of the Saint-Pierre Basilica, a sober silhouette and a soft voice, Thursday, May 8, on the evening of a quick conclave. At 69, the American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became Léon XIV, in homage to Léon XIII, the “pope of the Workers”. For the general public, this quasi-unknown was far from being a favorite. And yet, his name won in less than 48 hours at the 115 cardinals voters. first North American pope in history, the first also from the Augustins for centuries, he succeeds François with a form of assumed continuity, especially in the attention for the outskirts and his pastoral franc-parle. Whether on the reception of migrants or climate change, their vision, there too, is close.
Born in Chicago in 1955, a teacher father and a librarian mother, he grew up in a Catholic, but peripheral America. As a child, he served as a choir child before entering Augustins at the age of 22. Ordained a priest in 1982, he left the following year for northern Peru. He stayed there for almost twenty years, missionary and then provincial superior in the Trujillo region (northwest of the country), in neighborhoods often marked by violence and poverty. It is in this country shaken by the inequalities that its vocation is shaped. These years lastingly mark its conception of the role of the Church: near, humble and embodied.
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Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2020, he continued this listening work there, multiplying visits to rural parishes, launching educational projects and encouraging the training of undertaken laity. In 2023, Pope Francis, appointed him to Rome at the head of the powerful Dicastère for the bishops. Strategic position, where he advocated a less Coricale Church, closer to the realities on the ground. A listening Church. “In the name of the government and the people of Peru, we express our immense joy and send a fraternal embrace to his holiness, Léon XIV”, welcomed the Peruvian president Dina Boluarte, quoted by The Peruviantaken up by our colleagues from International mail.
-“Together in peace and humility, we will walk”
In an interview with the Vatican News, in 2023, the American had thus explained that a “bishop is not supposed to be a small prince sitting in his kingdom, but he is authentically called for humility, proximity to the people he serves, to walk with them and to suffer with them”. If he is in line with François, he also arrives with his own footprint. More discreet, less political perhaps, but fine strategist, it is also very respected in Rome for its sense of consensus and its attention to local communities. Several observers see him in him a profile capable of setting up open reforms. Without rushing them.
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Its popularity, it also owes it to its natural use modern tools. Léon XIV is a connected man: active on social networks from his Peruvian years, he does not hesitate to publish homilies, reflections, but also simple, almost intimate messages. His X account (ex-Twitter) has already been reactivated. He posted this first message there since his election: “Together in peace and humility, we will walk.”
It is unknown if it will also be open to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics that was François. Although he did not speak much recently, in a speech to the bishops in 2012, he deplored that Western media and popular culture encourage “sympathy for beliefs and practices contrary to the Gospel”. On LGBTQ +questions, Pope Leo XIV adopts a measured posture, marked by a loyalty to Catholic doctrine while recognizing the diversity of cultural contexts. “As an American, he is particularly well placed to oppose conservative and energetic Catholicism of his country. He has forcefully opposed the militant vision of Christian power promoted by the Trump administration,” said the new York Times. It remains to be seen, now, how Leon XIV will exercise this new power. One thing is certain: the first days of pontificate will be scrutinized closely.
