First pope from United States elected
Published 6:39 pm Friday, May 9, 2025
- Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar Pope Leo XIV was the first pope elected from the North American continent as well as the first pope from the United States.
The 2025 Papal Conclave selected an American as the new pope.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, was born in Chicago in 1955, and is the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Precost selected the papal name of Leo XIV.
St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church’s the Rev. Chris Boutin said the selection of the new pope was a historic event.
“It’s historic in that it is the first time we have a pope from the North American New World,” Boutin said. “It’s also historic in that he’s the first pope from the United States. It’s the first time people from the United States will be able to speak to the pope in their native language and for him to understand their references. Personally, it’s just really cool to have a pope from the United States.”
Boutin went on to explain that for the Catholic Church, losing Pope Francis was similar to losing the father of a family. He said, after the passing of the father, there was a period of mourning and of celebration of the father’s life. With the Catholic Church, he said there was also the election of a new father of the church, the pope.
“For Catholics, the pope is the visual representation of St. Peter and his ministry as an apostle,” Boutin said. “St. Peter was the first pope and Pope Leo XIV is the 267th pope. So, we don’t think of Pope Leo as an American pope. He’s a pope from America and the Bishop of Rome and the father of the Catholic Church.”
Pope Leo XIV was elected pope May 8 by the papal conclave following the death of Pope Francis. Prevost was ordained a priest of the Order of St. Augustine in 1982. He served as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher and administrator in Peru. He was prior general of the Order of St. Augustine from 2001 to 2013 and served as the Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015-23.
Pope Francis appointed him as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and made him a cardinal all in the same year. It was these roles that elevated his prominence as a papal candidate.
Prevost is a dual citizen of the United States and Peru.
