He chose the name Leo XIV.
Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago in September 1955. He was raised in the south suburbs, attending St. Mary of the Assumption parish in Dolton.
He was ordained in 1982 and earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas.
The new Pope is considered by some to represent “a dignified middle of the road.”
The 69-year-old Pope attended Villanova University, and then spent much of his life abroad, primarily in Peru where he became a naturalized citizen, worked as a missionary and later was archbishop. He was the Bishop of Chiclayo beginning in 2015.
In 2023 his predecessor, Pope Francis, named him to the Dicastery for Bishops, the Vatican office which oversees worldwide appointments of bishops. Pope Francis later named him president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
The communications director for the new Pope’s former diocese in Chiclayo told the Associated Press that, “no matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy.” He has called for service, saying last year that. “the bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom.” He must be “called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them.”
Announcing the news of the election of the first American Pope on Thursday afternoon on the Illinois House floor, Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) offered her good wishes for the new Pope.
“We are so excited and praying for Pope Leo XIV that he is able to guide the entire world in a peaceful manner,” Hammond said. Find out more about Pope Leo XIV from the Associated Press.