Vatican Elects First American Pope After Only a Day of Seclusion

What Happened?

After only a day of secluded ballots, the Vatican elected Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new head of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Prevost, who will take the name Leo XIV, is the first American ever named to the Papacy. 

Pope Leo graduated from Villanova University in Pennsylvania with a degree in mathematics, then studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago, where he earned a Master's of Divinity. At age 27, he was sent to Rome to study, and he was ordained as a priest in 1982. He went on to earn a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Why it Matters

The new pope will head the Catholic Church, whose members number some 1.4 billion worldwide in nearly every country on earth. New popes tend to choose names reflecting their own worldview and agendas, and this pope appears to be no different. The last pope named Leo was Leo XIII, who in 1891 championed a variety of (at the time) progressive goals, such as fair wages, the right of workers to unionize, and safer working conditions.

Robert Prevost was born in Chicago, Illinois, but he spent much of his life overseas working in various capacities for the Catholic Church. He has all the credentials needed to become pope. In addition to his formal education, he led his religious order as prior general, he has worked in a diocese, and since 2023 has overseen the Vatican department that chooses bishops. This combination of experience, in addition to his extensive travels across the globe, make him a well-rounded choice to lead a global organization like the Catholic Church.

While many in the United States focused on the political difference among the U.S. Catholics have tried to characterize Leo XIV as progressive, it’s not clear if the new pope will wade into the culture wars currently dominating American politics. His predecessor Pope Francis did, which many in the U.S. feel only helped deepen the divide among rank-and-file Catholics. But disagreements over politics or church doctrine are as old as the church itself, so there is nothing new about the actions of a pope being considered controversial.

Regardless, having an American lead the Papacy increases the chances that the global spotlight will spend more time on issues at the forefront of American life. Which means the new pope may have to address culture war issues whether he wants to or not.

How it Affects You

The fifty-two million Catholics in the United States, like their counterparts around the world, now have a new pope to lead their church during a time of vast technological change, violence, social upheaval and uncertainty. How the new pope addresses these issues will resonate on a global scale.