Who is Pope Leo XIV, the first US pontiff?

The world has a new pope from the United States after Pope Francis passed away. Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American cardinal, was elected as Pope Leo XIV, marking the first time a U.S.-born leader leads the Catholic Church since 1978. Born in Chicago to mixed-parents, Prevost grew up in the Midwest and studied mathematics before earning a doctorate in church law. He served as a mission architect in Peru before ascending through the ranks under Pope Francis, eventually becoming an Augustinian pope—an order inspired by St. Augustine’s teachings of love and humility—after being named after Saint Leo XIV.