After the unfortunate passing of Pope Francis at the end of April, 2025, the Catholic Church acquired themselves a new leader to take his place. Pope Francis, who served as the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City for twelve years up until his passing, perished April 25, 2025 of a stroke, leaving the church unsupervised as the College of Cardinals scrambled to find Saint Peter’s next apostolic successor. Enter Pope Leo XIV, devoted missionary and Chicago White Sox Fan.
Born in Chicago in the mid 50s as Robert Francis Prevost, Pope Leo developed an early interest in priesthood. In his youth he attended the parish St. Mary of the Assumption in Riverdale, a nearby neighborhood of his own stomping grounds, Dolton. His upbringing accounts for his interest in priesthood as well as his status as a White Sox Fan. As of 1982, he fulfilled his childhood dream and was ordained as a priest, entertaining missionary work in Peru in the 80s and 90s where he served in a variety of teaching positions for Peruvian Catholics. After a quick twelve year hiatus from that chapter of his life, given his elected status as the prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, Leo returned to Peru and earned citizenship in 2015. In 2023, he gained citizenship in Vatican City, where he serves as the Pope today. As a dedicated Catholic as well as polyglot, Leo held many different posts across the world, such as Bishop of Sufar, Apostolistic Administrator of Chiclayo and Callao, and Cardinal Deacon of Santa Monica to name a few. Despite his long-term residency in Peru, Pope Leo still stands as the first American pope to date, and a Chicago native no less.
His papacy began on May 8, 2025, and given his fairly young age of 69, should continue for quite some time. Fortunately, Pope Leo’s interests are not strictly reserved for the Church. He also acknowledges social and technological challenges worldwide, such as global warming and the rise of artificial intelligence. His very own papal name was inspired by Pope Leo XIII, who served the Vatican during the Second Industrial Revolution, so it is no surprise that Pope Leo XIV has keen opinions on the ever-modernizing world, opinions that are not all influenced by Catholicism, but more for the betterment of the whole world. His take on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which we are currently experiencing, is that it threatens the dignity of the human race. In alignment with his interests in human rights and other social triumphs, Pope Leo has already spoken on how dramatic advances in technology take job opportunities away from hardworking people who have not yet lost their drive to a world made easier by robots.
Although his take on modernization may seem old-fashioned to some, they are not without justification or an educated background. Pope Leo reportedly excelled in school and attended multiple universities, most notably Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree as well as a degree in mathematics. His alma mater even awarded him the Doctor of Humanities degree in 2014. His thorough education not only qualifies him to be the Pope, but also to speak on issues unrelated to the Church, and in several languages, too. Pope Leo is fluent in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, languages that reflect his versatility as a religious leader as well as his own ancestry, which includes African, French, Italian, and Spanish. Apart from his many spoken languages, he also studied Hebrew and Latin in college, which no doubt come in handy when analyzing religious texts. As for his education, Leo left no stone unturned.
Apart from the worldwide heartbreak that came with the death of beloved Pope Francis, the public posed another reason as to why they were hesitant to welcome the new Pope. According to the St. Malachy’s Prophecy of the Popes, a series of Catholic texts said to predict the succession of each pope, there would be approximately 112 popes, all predicted with names, nationalities, and characteristics. After the 112th pope, it is prophesied that with his death will come the end of the Church shortly after. Although these 112 prophecies are not validated by the Bible and have been under suspicion of forgery since their publication in the 1500s, many believe that Pope Leo’s induction indicates the near end of the Church, for the late Pope Francis was to be the last according to these texts. The one to follow in his footsteps is said to shortly precede the destruction of Rome, and with that, the Second Coming. Due to the Prophecies’ inconsistent predictions and their exclusion from any validated texts like the Bible, not many Catholics are rushing to get their homes in order before the Last Judgement, especially since the Pope said to bring this down upon the world was to be “Peter the Roman,” not “Leo the SouthSider.” Still, even non-Catholics have entertained this ominous prediction, conducting research on the prophecies of a religion they might not have otherwise studied. Such knowledge could prove beneficial on the off chance of Christ’s resurrection.
As of now, the Catholic Church thrives under its new direction: the pleasant-natured Pope Leo XIV. The United States, more specifically the Chicago area, is greatly proud to have produced a pious leader who will hopefully serve for the betterment of the world, not the end of it.
