5 things to know about Pope Leo XIV
1. He is the first American pope.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of Prevost’s ascension to the papacy is his background.
Pope Leo XIV is the first pope from the United States of America in history. According to the College of Cardinals Report, he was born in Chicago, Illinois, on Sept. 14, 1955. He graduated from Villanova University in 1977 with a bachelor of science in mathematics. Five years later, he graduated from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago with a master of divinity. That same year, he was ordained a priest.
From 1999 to 2001, he served as a provincial in the Augustinian Province in Chicago. The website for the Midwest Augustinians still lists Prevost as one of its solemnly professed priors. The mission statement for the province defines the religious order as part of the “worldwide Order of Saint Augustine in the Roman Catholic Church” that searches “for God in community by sharing our lives, goods and spiritual journey with each other and the people of God.”
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“In harmony of mind and heart on our journey toward God, our experience of common life flows into and shapes our ministries,” the mission statement continues. “We continue to serve the Church in schools, parishes and missions as we seek to discern new paths of service to which God calls us.”
From 2001 to 2013, Prevost served as the prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, acting as “the head of the Order and its supreme authority.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
