On May 8th, the second day of the Conclave, Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected our new pope. He took the name Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Leo was born in Chicago, Illinois, became a friar of the Augustinian Order, worked about 20 years in Peru and about 15 years in Rome before being chosen as the 266th successor to St. Peter.

In his opening address, Pope Leo XIV called himself a “son of St. Augustine”† and quoted one of his famous sayings, “With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.” Although a son of the United States, Pope Leo is now a servant of the Universal Church.

† St. Augustine was a bishop in northern Africa at the beginning of the 5th century. He encouraged his priests to live in community, so they could support one another in ministry. Over time, these communities were organized and formally recognized as the Augustinian Order.