Pope Leo XIV (UPDATED)

 

Moments ago, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago, IL, was announced as the new Pope, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.   He was appointed by Pope Francis as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America since 2023.  He previously served as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015 to 2023, and was prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013.  In 2015 Cardinal Prevost became a naturalized citizen of Peru as confirmed by Peru's National Civil Registry.

He's the first American- born Pope, and the second in a row to be a citizen of a South American country to become Pope.  He was considered a close confidant of Pope Francis and may continue his "reform" agenda.  He's on the young side (69) of the candidates that were being considered.

UPDATE:  A somewhat hopeful sign? --

The director of the Holy See told reporters Thursday that the name is a "direct reference to Leo XIII," the last pope to take the name Leo.

Pope Leo XIII, who headed the Catholic Church from 1878 until his death in 1903, was a founding figure of the Catholic social justice tradition.

 

(Photo:  via HuffPo)