New pope Robert Prevost was elected at 6 pm on May 8th in record breaking fashion after a conclave that lasted only one day and 24 minutes.  His papal name is Pope Leo XIV (14th). Up until his election, he served as head of the church’s dicastery for bishops, a position where he oversaw the selection of new bishops across the world and before that he was elected twice as the leader of the Augustinian order. Prevost is the first American-born pope, born in Chicago, however he is a naturalized Peruvian citizen. He is 69 years old and was elected as a cardinal personally by Pope Francis in 2023.

Prevost is considered a centrist within the church, but is progressive on some social issues, embracing marginalized groups, immigrants, and the poor, however he has a much less progressive stance on the LGBTQ+ community. Where Pope Francis had stated “who am I to judge” when asked about the community, Leo has lamented that western media and news “foster sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel”. He has opposed government plans in Peru to teach about gender in school saying “the promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist”. There are accusations of mishandling regarding sexual abuse in the church, but nothing is yet confirmed. Many Chicago activists have alleged that he did not warn a nearby Catholic school about a priest that abused young boys for years who was sheltered in a nearby monastery.

Prevost is known to be much more reserved than Francis, speaking his mind less than Francis did. Like Francis, he is opposed to ejecting women as deacons. Earlier this year he took to social media to slam Vance for his comments on Jesus’s love, saying “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

Only time will tell on the impact he will have on the Catholic Church and what changes he will make.