Hope Has a Name

IT WAS once widely believed that the election of an American pope was highly unlikely. Most American Church leaders even shared the view that such an outcome might not be desirable. The shared conventional wisdom was that the United States has too much power in the world, and that the pope and the US president – arguably the two loudest voices on the world stage – shouldn’t come from the same place. According to traditional thinking, the pope should reflect more of the diversity of the 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, avoiding a concentration of power or cultural perspective.

Unlikely biography

All of that changed on May 8 when Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as Pope Leo XIV, taking on as his namesake the legacy of Pope Leo XIII, who ushered Catholic social teaching into the modern era with his strong defense of human dignity and worker’s rights.

A native of Chicago, Illinois, his election made the impossible possible. “Il papa americano” the Italian newspapers declared. But the unlikely biography of our now Pope tells a fascinating journey across three continents that represents the multiculturalism of the global Church – so much so that when the cardinals entered into conclave to elect a new pope, geography was the least of their concerns.

Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, cardinals began to converge onto Rome to discuss the needs of the Church and what qualities they were looking for in the next pope. Some said they wanted a leader with the heart of Pope Francis, the intellect of Pope Benedict XVI, and the strength of St. Pope John Paul II. Others emphasized the need to have a pope who could speak to the major challenges facing the world right now, especially with wars raging across the globe. There were also calls to find a pope that could focus on the continuing reform of the Vatican’s bureaucracy, especially the need to help restructure the Church’s finances, and continue the fight against clergy abuse. To put it bluntly: it was a lengthy job description! I was skeptical that all of those boxes could be checked.

But when we heard the famous words in Latin “Habemus Papam” (We have a pope) followed by the news of who had been selected, I felt confident that the cardinals had chosen a man who could rise to the occasion to tackle the challenges that await him.

Augustinian upbringing

Born in 1955, Prevost was raised in a working class neighborhood in Chicago’s ethnically diverse South Side. The family’s life revolved around the parish, and soon the young “Rob” as his parents and brothers called him, felt a call to the Catholic priesthood. By his early teenage years, he had already enrolled in a minor seminary run by the Augustinian Order. With a strong emphasis on communal life, prayer and service, the order – founded in the 13th century – is committed to living “together in harmony, being of one mind and one heart on the way to God.”

After ordination, Prevost’s first assignment was to an Augustinian mission in Peru. It was there that he said he learned to be a pastor. In Peru, he worked alongside the poor – preaching the Gospel to a people who had suffered greatly from natural disasters and economic injustices, phenomena he had never witnessed before. After further studies in Rome, Prevost was eventually elected as head of his religious community in Chicago, giving him his first real experience in leadership. In this capacity, he had to manage personnel and property, and ensure the spiritual health of the Augustinians in his region. Less than three years later he was asked to do so on the world stage by being elected to oversee the worldwide order. Although he was based in Rome during this time, he traveled the world to the 50 countries where the Augustinians serve – getting a firsthand education on the needs and realities of the Church around the globe. After serving two consecutive terms, he briefly returned to Chicago before Pope Francis asked him to pack his bags again and head back to Peru – this time as a bishop.

Missionary bishop

As a missionary bishop, Prevost was happy to be back in a region he had come to love and a people he knew needed him. It was bittersweet then, in 2023, when Pope Francis called him back to Rome, this time to head the influential Vatican department that advises the pope on bishop appointments around the world. Soon after returning to the Eternal City, the Pope made him a cardinal – meaning he would be one of the men responsible for electing who succeeded Francis when the time came.

When he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8, he signaled to the world that he wanted to continue in the tradition of Pope Francis, but that he would also lead in his own distinct way.  

“We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs his light. Humanity needs him as a bridge to reach God and his love. You, dear faithful, help us to build bridges with dialogue and encounter so we can all be one people always in peace,” Leo told the cheering international crowd of over 100,000 people that had gathered to see the new Pope.

“We have to look together how to be a missionary church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love,” he said.

In that speech – just 500 words that he had quickly written after his election – he gave the world a glimpse at his priorities: to focus on peace-building, both inside and outside of the Church; the prioritize the poor; and to continue Pope Francis’ efforts to build a Church that is open to all.

Pope of peace

The day after his election, Leo XIV celebrated Mass in the Sistine Chapel with the cardinals who had elected him pope in that same sacred space just the day before. His message was simple: those in authority in the Catholic Church should make themselves small so that Christ can be glorified. And he pledged to them that he would lead by example. He may hail from one of the world’s leading superpowers, but his job as pope was not to be superman, but just a simple shepherd.

On Sunday, May 11, for his first weekly noontime address, he highlighted the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and repeated the words immortalized by St. Pope Paul VI that have been echoed by popes since then: “Never again war!”

In that very first address on the night of his election, Leo had used the word “peace” nine times. And in the first week of his papacy it was a theme he would return to in almost every address, be it with his meeting with journalists – where he asked us to be peacemakers with our words – or his address to the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, where he said that he was willing to bring together sides that were fighting in order to reach a solution. The world desperately needed peace and he would be a pope of peace.

Negligible impact

The day after Leo’s election, the American cardinals who participated in the conclave held a press conference with reporters from the United States. Repeatedly, they were asked how such a once unthinkable thing had occurred – that an American had ascended to the throne of Peter.

“I think the impact of him being an American was almost negligible in the deliberations of the conclave, and surprisingly so,” Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, DC, said. “What surprised me was the real absence of that being a key question at all.”

“He’s really a citizen of the entire world since he has spent so much of his life, ministry, missionary work and zeal for Christ in South America,” Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston, Texas added.

“Where he comes from is now sort of a thing of the past,” New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan argued. “You know, Robert Francis Prevost is no longer around. It’s now Pope Leo. He’s the pontiff of the Church universal.”

The fact that the new pope’s own personal biography bridges the three continents of North America, Latin America, and Europe only enhances the work that now awaits him. And, as Dolan added, the word “pontiff” literally means a build-bridger, and that’s what the cardinals elected him to do.

Inaugural Mass

On May 18, Pope Leo celebrated his inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square before a global assembly of faithful, dignitaries, and Church leaders. The liturgy reflected his deep pastoral sensibility – marked by reverence, simplicity and moments of contemplative silence. In his homily, Pope Leo called the Church to be a “living bridge of mercy” and urged Catholics to be peacemakers in a divided world. Choirs sang in multiple languages, and the Pope’s words resonated with his trademark humility and clarity. As the Mass concluded, he offered a heartfelt blessing, encouraging all people of goodwill to walk together in unity, compassion and hope.

At a time marked by uncertainty and division, the election of Pope Leo XIV stands as a sign of renewed purpose and unity for the Church and the world. His words and witness have already begun to shape a papacy rooted in compassion, dialogue and fidelity to the Gospel. Indeed, for many, hope now bears a name: Pope Leo XIV.