The New Pope, First American Ever, Is A Villanova Grad: What To Know

VILLANOVA, PA — The conclave in Vatican City concluded after a little over a day on Thursday morning as the new pope, Villanova University graduate Robert Francis Prevost, was selected. He has named himself Pope Leo XIV.

Francis, 69, is the first American to ever hold the position, and was chosen despite the Vatican's long-held hesitancy to select a pope from one of the world's superpowers. In the past, America has also been seen as too secular in the eyes of the strict dogmatists in Rome.

PHOTOS: First American Pope Named

Prevost earned his bachelor of science in mathematics from Villanova in 1977, and joined the Order of Saint Augustine immediately following graduation, according to a brief biography on the Villanova website.

After graduating from Villanova, Prevost returned to his native Chicago, where he obtained a master of divinity degree from the Catholic Theological Union in 1982. He was ordained as a priest the same year.

Prevost is generally considered to be a centrist both politically and theologically, though he has expressed progressive views on on the Catholic notion of "synodality" and solidarity with the poor and marginalized. He's also embraced conservative views on various issues of church doctrine, including not allowing women to become priests.

He was appointed as a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023 after serving as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015 to 2023. He is a dual citizen of America and Peru.

Prevost had been a leading candidate except for his nationality. There had long been a taboo against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States in the secular sphere. But Prevost was seemingly eligible also because he’s a Peruvian citizen.

Francis clearly had his eye on Prevost and in many ways saw him as his heir apparent. He brought Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 to serve as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church.

As a result, Prevost had a prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals have.
The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers, priests made the sign of the cross and nuns wept as the crowd shouted “Viva il papa!” after the white smoke wafted into the late afternoon sky at 6:07 p.m. Waving flags from around the world, tens of thousands of people waited to learn who had won.

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The Associated Press contributed reporting