From Chicago to Rome by way of Peru
The life of a son of Saint Augustine: Augustinian friar, missionary, Prior General of the Order and, since 2025, Bishop of Rome.
- Name
- Robert Francis Prevost
- Born
- Sep 14, 1955, Chicago
- Elected
- May 8, 2025
- Motto
- In illo uno unum
Biography
Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago on September 14, 1955. He is the youngest of three brothers, in a family closely tied to its parish. He studied at the Augustinian minor seminary in Michigan and earned a degree in Mathematics from Villanova University.
In 1977 he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine. He made his solemn profession in 1981 and the following year was ordained a priest in Rome, where he earned a doctorate in Canon Law.
In 1985 he arrived as a missionary in Chulucanas, Peru. From 1988 he spent ten years in Trujillo, where he trained young Augustinians, taught at the seminary and served as a parish priest.
His brothers elected him Prior General of the Order in 2001 and confirmed him in 2007. In 2014 Pope Francis sent him to Chiclayo, first as apostolic administrator and, from 2015, as bishop; that same year he became a Peruvian citizen. His motto, In illo uno unum (“In the One, we are one”), comes from Saint Augustine.
In 2023 Francis called him to Rome as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and made him a cardinal. On May 8, 2025 he was elected pope and took the name Leo XIV: he is the first pontiff born in the United States and the first from the Order of Saint Augustine.
Timeline
- 1955 Chicago Robert Francis Prevost is born on September 14.
- 1977 United States He enters the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine.
- 1982 Rome Priestly ordination.
- 1985 Peru He arrives as a missionary in Chulucanas; later, formator in Trujillo.
- 2001 Rome Elected Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine. He serves two terms, until 2013.
- 2015 Chiclayo Bishop of Chiclayo.
- 2023 Rome Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and cardinal.
- 2025 Rome On May 8 he is elected Pope and takes the name Leo XIV.
Motto and coat of arms
“In the One, we are one.” The phrase comes from Saint Augustine. On the coat of arms, the pierced heart on a book: the emblem of the Order of Saint Augustine.