The American pope

The Roman Catholic Church has a new pope, and it didn’t take the papal conclave long to make it happen. On the fourth ballot, taken in the grandeur of the Sistine Chapel, the cardinal electors chose a new pope, who was announced as Pope Leo XIV. Habemas papam, declared the conclave, ushering in the reign of the new pope—an unprecedented American pope.

So what’s his story? Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955 and had a very typical American Catholic boyhood, serving as an altar boy at St. Mary of the Assumption Church and graduating from St. Augustine Seminary High School in 1973. He went from Chicago to Villanova University, where he was awarded a degree in mathematics. Four years later he became a novice within the Order of St. Augustine and he was ordained as a priest five years after that.

Father Prevost was later sent by the order to Peru, where he served as administrator and seminary teacher before being elected to two six-year terms as prior general of the Augustinians. That was a major role that undoubtedly gave him a major platform within Catholic circles worldwide. He returned to Peru and in 2015 Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Chiclayo. His break into top Vatican leadership came in 2023 when Pope Francis made him a cardinal of the church and appointed him to head the Dicastery for Bishops, and in that role he worked with the pope on the appointment of all bishops and archbishops around the globe. Visibility in that office almost assuredly led to his election as pope.

Papal elections follow the same general script, and the global media play right along. There is speculation about the papabile, those who might be likely choices, and then there is the reminder that the entire process is hidden from view and entirely unpredictable. When a new pope is announced, there is immediate speculation about why and exactly how he was chosen. One thing is for certain: A decision that comes this fast means a consensus around Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost came very early in the process.

What does this mean for the future of the Roman Catholic Church? The two most basic facts to consider are these: First, Pope Francis appointed the vast majority of the cardinal electors in the room. Second, Prevost had been personally chosen by Pope Francis to direct the process of choosing and appointing bishops around the globe. In other words, there is little chance that the new pope was chosen to do anything but continue the trajectory set by Francis. That is of great concern to conservative Catholics.

Pope Francis was the pope of doctrinal equivocation and moral liberalization. He famously responded, “Who am I to judge?” when asked about homosexuality and he allowed for the blessing of same-sex couples. Francis constantly pointed left but he made little effort to change official church teachings and judgments. He clearly left that task to his successor, and we can safely assume that Pope Leo XIV expects to be seen in that light. He appeared on the balcony as the new pope, dressed in more regal attire than Francis preferred. He seemed to be sending a signal of stability and respect for tradition. But, in the eyes of concerned conservatives in the Catholic Church, all that may well make him far more dangerous than Pope Francis.

Francis presented himself as a genial grandfather, but behind the scenes he hit conservatives hard, forbidding, for example, the Latin mass. At times Francis appeared downright confused about basic issues of Catholic tradition and teaching. My guess is that Pope Leo XIV will present himself very differently. Conservatives now wonder out loud if Leo will be simultaneously more polished and more effective at the task of liberalizing Catholic doctrine and practice.

Evangelical Protestants have no pope, nor any office remotely like it. That is not merely by preference, but by doctrine and biblical conviction. We do not believe Christ intended, much less established, any such priesthood, magisterium, or churchly potentate. But we do recognize that the pope of the Roman Catholic Church has enormous cultural and moral influence—just consider the fawning conclave coverage offered by the major media. There will be a lot of discussion about the first American pope, a lot of speculation about just how leftward his pontificate may lean, and a lot of jockeying for position within the curia.

The voting cardinals made history with the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV. The big question we are left with is what kind of history the new pope will make.