American-Peruvian Robert Prevost elected as new leader of the Roman Catholic Church

The Vatican in Rome announced the name of the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church on the afternoon of 8 May.

After the fumata bianca and the “Habemus Papam”, it was announced in St. Peter's Square that Robert Francis Prevost Martínez, of the Augustinian order, had been chosen by more than two-thirds of the 133 cardinal electors. The conclave lasted just 24 hours.

He also becomes the sovereign of the state of Vatican City.

The new pope was born in Chicago (United States), but after his ordination he left for Peru as a missionary in 1985, spending most of his 69 years in the South American country. His father is of French descent, his mother of Spanish descent, and he speaks Spanish, English, Italian and French.

He studied mathematics, Catholic theology and canon law, and was bishop of Chiclayo and vice-president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference.

He is considered by experts to be a trusted confidant of Pope Francis, who appointed him cardinal in 2023.

Rober Prevost is well acquainted with the structures of the Vatican, having served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the election of new bishops and the formation of new dioceses around the world.

Although the media has predicted that he will continue along the theological and social lines of Pope Francis, Leo XIV has yet to outline his priorities at the helm of the Catholic Church. Nor is there much information about his relationship with other Christian denominations, such as the Evangelical churches.

Evangelical Focus will publish relevant opinions from an evangelical perspective on what can be expected from global Catholicism and its new leader. The first reaction is from our columnist Leonardo de Chirico, an evangelical theologian in Rome and an expert on Catholicism, with his article: The new Pope begins with the old Indulgences.