American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost Martínez, born in Chicago (USA) but naturalised Peruvian, was elected the new Pope of the Catholic Church on Thursday 8 May following the Conclave held in the Sistine Chapel, after obtaining at least 89 of the votes required to be elected Supreme Pontiff, taking the name Leo XIV. The first Augustinian Pope and the first Pope from the United States, he is considered a successor to Francis, although he has a more moderate profile, which would make him a more tolerable and conciliatory figure in the eyes of the conservative sectors of the Vatican.
‘Peace be with you all. Dear brothers and sisters: this is the first greeting of the risen Christ,’ he said in his first address to dozens of thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. ‘We still hear in our ears the weak but courageous voice of Francis, the Pope who blessed Rome,’ he continued during a speech in which he repeatedly called for peace and the building of bridges.
‘Thanks to Pope Francis,’ he repeated, making clear in his first words the continuity of the legacy of the previous Pontiff that he wants to give to his Pontificate. ‘We must be a missionary Church, building bridges, open to dialogue, open to all who need our charity, our presence, love and dialogue,’ he continued.
‘And if you allow me, I would also like to greet my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru,’ he said, switching from Italian to Spanish at that point. He concluded by asking for prayers to the Virgin Mary for the Church and for peace in the world, after a speech in which he emphasised his missionary past and set a course for continuity with the legacy of Pope Francis.
An American Pope with strong Latin roots
The name of Robert Prevost had been mentioned in recent days as one of the candidates gaining strength as a possible successor to Francis. Born on 14 September 1955 in Chicago (although he has also Peruvian nationality since 2015), Robert Francis Prevost Martínez (now León XIV) is the son of a father of French and Italian origin (Louis Marius Prevost) and a mother of Spanish origin (Mildred Martínez). He has two brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph.
He completed his secondary education at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers, where he graduated in 1973, obtaining a degree in Mathematical Sciences and a specialisation in Philosophy at Villanova University (Pennsylvania, USA) between 1973 and 1977. He then studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and was ordained a priest on 19 June 1982 in Rome by Archbishop Jean Jadot.
He later continued his studies in canon law at the Angelicum University in Rome, where he graduated in 1984 and obtained a doctorate cum laude. From March 2018 to January 2023, he was second vice-president of the Episcopal Conference of Peru, a country where he has lived for more than 30 years and to which he was first assigned between 1985 and 1986 in Chulucanas, later serving for many years as vicar of the Archdiocese of Trujillo.
He was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis on 30 September 2023. He is a polyglot, speaking Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese in addition to English, and can also read Latin and German. His name began to be heard loudly before the Conclave because of his conciliatory and moderate character, within which he is considered a continuator of the work and message of Francis, especially because of his long pastoral experience in Peru.
He is also considered the antithesis of the ideology defended by Trump, as well as a bridge between North America and Latin America, as he has his roots in the heart of industrial America but has spent much of his life in Latin America, where he worked as a missionary for the most poor.
The great challenges facing the new Pope
He therefore has a deep knowledge of the continent where almost half of all Catholics in the world currently live, but at the same time he also knows Europe and, above all, has experienced the inner workings of the Vatican, as Pope Francis appointed him in January 2023 as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, elevating him to the dignity of archbishop ad personam.
Prevost -León XIV- nevertheless faces numerous challenges as Pope: he must be able to continue the rapprochement between the Church and the faithful and the most disadvantaged that Francis began, but at the same time he will have to learn how to deal with the internal struggles and corruption that plague the Catholic Church, and with the challenges of all kinds facing the world today, in which the Vatican aspires to regain its former influence.
It also remains to be seen whether the new Pope will continue the openness initiated by Francis I towards women, but also towards traditionally reviled groups such as homosexuals and divorcees; or how he will deal with growing cases of sexual abuse within the Church.
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As a history lover, Pablo Gómez was captivated by Turkey from the first day he visited it in 2006: he got married there, has a house there… and has since become an expert on Turkey’s current affairs. With a long experience in media, he has been at the helm of hispanatolia.com since 2011.
