"Peace be with you all.
"Pope Leo XIV · balcony of St. Peter's Basilica · 8 May 2025
Robert Francis Prevost, Born Chicago 1955
Born on 14 September 1955 in Chicago, Illinois, Robert Prevost is the son of a school educator and a librarian. He studied mathematics at Villanova University, then theology in Chicago and canon law in Rome. An Augustinian friar since 1977, he spent the majority of his working life as a missionary, teacher and bishop in Peru, acquiring Peruvian citizenship in 2015. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, one of the most powerful administrative roles in the Vatican. On 8 May 2025 he became the 267th pope, taking the name Leo in honour of Pope Leo XIII, the author of the first great social encyclical.
Number in papal history
267th pope
Conclave ballot
elected on the 4th vote
Cardinals who voted
133
Catholics worldwide
1.4 billion
Age at election
69
Citizenship
American and Peruvian
1stAmerican pope in 2,000 years of Catholic history
Year One: Milestones of the Leo XIV Papacy
Elected 8 May 2025 on the 4th ballot of the conclave
First address delivered in Italian, Spanish and English from St. Peter's balcony
Issued encyclical Magnifica humanitas on the ethics of artificial intelligence
Called for annual meetings with the College of Cardinals as an advisory body
Spoke out against US immigration enforcement and deportation policy
Received the 2026 Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center (3 July 2026)
Delivered a virtual address at America 250 celebrations, urging the US to welcome migrants
Visit to Lampedusa and European migrant routes (July 2026, in progress)
Leo's first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, addresses artificial intelligence directly. He argues that AI must serve human dignity, not replace human labour or judgment, and that algorithms making decisions about people's lives require moral accountability. It is the first papal document in history devoted to a technology.
"We have to be a church that works together to build bridges and to keep our arms open, like this very piazza, welcoming.
"Pope Leo XIV · Magnifica humanitas · 2025