Pope Leo XIV, the former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, waves to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican after his election as pope May 8, 2025. The new pope was born in Chicago. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
We Have a Pope!
Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, was elected the 267th pope May 8 and took the name Pope Leo XIV.
He is the first North American to be elected pope. Pope Leo was born Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Augustinian-run Villanova University in Pennsylvania and joined the order in 1977, making his solemn vows in 1981. He holds a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
He joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and largely worked in the country until 1999 when he was elected head of the Augustinians’ Chicago-based province. From 2001 to 2013, he served as prior general of the worldwide order. In 2014, Pope Francis named him bishop of Chiclayo, in northern Peru, and the pope asked him also to be apostolic administrator of Callao, Peru, from April 2020 to May 2021.
Live from Vatican City
Statement from
Bishop Edward J. Burns
With great joy and deep gratitude to God, I join my brother priests, deacons, religious, and all the faithful of the Diocese of Dallas — and indeed the whole world — in celebrating the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. This is a moment of profound hope and renewal for the Church, as Our Lord has provided a new shepherd to guide us in faith, truth, and charity.
What a surprise to learn that a young country like the United States of America would bring forth one of her own sons to become the shepherd of the Universal Church. This is a historic moment for the Catholic Church in the United States and throughout the world.
We embrace our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, with open hearts and steadfast prayers. As he begins his Petrine ministry in leading the Church through these challenging times, he will have our unwavering prayers and support. We are grateful that Our Lord has given us a shepherd in the line of St. Peter, to whom the Savior said: “Peter, you are rock, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18)
I invite everyone to pray that the Lord will grant our new Holy Father a spirit of courage, compassion, and love. May the Holy Spirit fill him with wisdom and strength, so that he may serve with joy and bear witness to the hope, mercy, and peace that only Christ can offer.
As we enter this new chapter in the life of the Church, let us walk together with renewed faith, trusting always in the Lord who is ever faithful.
May God bless our Holy Father, and may Mary, Mother of the Church, intercede for him as he begins his pontificate.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Edward J. Burns
Bishop of Dallas
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Prayer for the
New Pope
O God, who in your providential design
willed that your Church be built to stand firm
upon the rock of Saint Peter,
look with favor, we pray, on Leo, our Pope
and grant that he, whom you have made Peter’s successor,
may be for your people a visible source and foundation
of unity in faith and of communion,
a lasting sign of your holiness on earth,
and an offer to all humanity of your heavenly peace.
Amen.
Message from Bishop Burns
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