Pope Leo XIV welcomed the public for the first time from the main balcony of the St. Peter Basilica.
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Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images
About 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide will have a new spiritual leader: Pope Leo XIV.
The choice of Robert Frances Prevost, who selected the name Leo XIV as 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church, marks two historical first. Leo is the first Pope born in the United States to lead the church and the first Pope from the Augustinian Order.
On Thursday, the new Pope appeared on the balcony of the St. Peter Basilica and gave a short speech. His opening words were: “Peace be with all of you!”
The 69-year-old Pontiff added that he wanted his peace message “entering her hearts, reaching her families and all people wherever they are”. During his speech, he spoke in Italian, Spanish and Latin.
The new Pope thanked his colleagues who chose him. He also thanked his former diocese in Peru and warmly spoke of Pope Francis, his late predecessor, before he ended his comments with a prayer.
It is known that Leo shares some of the same priorities as Francis, especially when it comes to the environment and public relations for migrants and the poor, so loud The College of Cardinals Report, A resource created by a team of Vatican journalists.
The new Pope was born in Chicago in 1955, so Vatican news. His father is a French and Italian descent while his mother is Spanish descent.
Leo studied the Augustinian fathers at the small seminar. He visited Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he received a degree in mathematics. He later pursued his theological training at the Catholic theological Union in Chicago.
Although the new Pope is American, one of the most important chapters of his service took place in Peru. Prävost served there about two decades. Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Chiclayo in 2014 and became a cardinal last year.