Pope Leo

Pope Leo XIV The words “Habemus papam!” “We have a pope!” have been uttered joyfully from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for centuries. However, 2025 was the first time in history that the name of an American cardinal was mentioned as the new successor of St. Peter. Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955 and raised in the southwest suburb of Dolton, the son of a librarian mother and educator father.  “Bob” completed his secondary education at St. Augustine Seminary in Holland, Michigan, which was his first exposure to the Congregation of St. Augustine.  After studying math at Villanova University, another Augustinian institution, Prevost then responded to his vocational call by entering the Order of St. Augustine in 1977. After theological studies at Chicago Theological Union and a time teaching at St. Rita High School on Chicago’s south side, Prevost earned at Licentiate of Canon Law in 1984 followed by a canon law degree from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas