Habemus Papam! We have a Pope. Without the benefit of Hell freezing over, we have a Pope born and raised in America. The Midwest as in Midwest Nice. What’s more he’s born and raised in Chicago. Long before he became the Vicar of Christ, he was formerly known as Robert Prevost with a Mother and Father (What?) and brothers (No way!). The Pope was once a small boy. Oh my stars and garters.

Maybe it’s just me, but it always seemed like Popes were born old and wearing Cardinal’s robes. Even Pope John Paul II who was beloved by everyone, even this Southern Baptist girl. We knew he was Polish, but we still thought he was born clerical vestments. Of course, before JPII for over 400 years the Pope was an Italian and mostly mysterious. Not only is Pope Leo XIV from America, but he has a public family and strong social media game.

Who is Pope Leo XiV Formerly Known As Robert Prevost?

From the Washington Examiner:

Robert Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, has two older brothers, John and Louis. They grew up together in suburban Chicago, Illinois. John would go on to a career in education and is a retired principal. Louis entered the Navy. Currently, John lives in New Lenox, Illinois, and Louis lives in Port Charlotte, Florida. Both were stunned to find out their baby brother was the new pope.

“Not really an idea that it could happen, but there was an inkling of a chance,” said John Prevost. “But I really was just as surprised as everyone when they said his name.”

“It was a shocking moment,” John said after hearing his brother’s name announced. “I was on the phone with my niece, and we both couldn’t believe it. Then the phone, the iPad, and my cellphone just went nuts.”

And from the Daily Press:

While growing up in the Chicago area, Robert Prevost often played “pretend priest,” his older brother John Prevost recalled after the announcement.

The younger brother would set up a table draped in a white cloth and recite prayers.

“He did that all the time. He took it totally serious, it was not a game,” John Prevost said Thursday outside his home in New Lenox.

For college, Robert Prevost attended Villanova in Pennsylvania and attained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. While in college and later as a Seminarian, Prevost was strongly pro-life:

Fr. Denis Wilde, an Augustinian priest who is the associate director of Priests for Life, yesterday recalled a young seminarian he knew in the 1970s at Villanova University as “a humble man who was not into himself, but into the Lord, Jesus Christ.”

That seminarian became Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope to lead the Catholic Church.

As a student at Villanova, Robert Prevost was one of the founders of the pro-life organization Villanovans for Life that is still active some 50 years later. Pope Leo’s previous statements about the sanctity of life make it clear he has not changed his mind about the need to protect the unborn from abortion.

The future Pope taught math and history in Illinois before becoming a missionary in Peru. It was there that he was accused of looking the other way during a Priest Abuse Scandal:

Two priests in Peru also faced accusations of sexual abuse under Prevost’s supervision, Catholic news outlet The Pillar reported.

Prevost allegedly mishandled allegations dating back to 2007 made by three sisters against a father while he was the head of the Diocese of Chiclayo.

As leader, it was Prevost’s role to oversee complaints and investigate them. He reportedly encouraged the accusers to take their case to the civil authorities while the church investigated, only for the church to shelve the investigation for ‘lack of evidence’.

Lopez de Casas, a victim of clergy abuse and national vice president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) told MailOnline that the group raised these allegations about Prevost to the 133 cardinals picking the next pope over the conclave.

He said: ‘Staying silent is a sin. It’s not what God wants us to do. Jesus wants us to stop these things, not make a healthy garden for sexual abuse to grow.’

‘He was high on our watchlist at SNAP to make sure he was not selected for pope. But now, here we are,’ he added.

As deplorable as the priest scandal is, the way we allow adults to groom children today seems as evil.

The Pope’s job is to bring people to Christ and to provide clear guidance of Bible interpretations. The moral clarity provided by the triumvirate of Dame Margaret Thatcher, President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II brought peace, prosperity and faith to the final years of the 20th century. It would be nice if Pope Leo XIV could work with Georgia Meloni, Donald Trump and Javier Milei. Yes? Knowing he has a firm stance on the sanctity of life is a start.

Pope Leo XIV recognizes the burden placed on him by his elevation. In his homily today:

From The Tablet:

Pope Leo XIV delivered his first public homily as pope during a Mass with the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on May 9:

“I begin with a word in English, and the rest is in Italian, but I want to repeat the words of the responsorial psalm: I will sing a new song to the Lord because he has done marvels. And indeed, not just with me, but with all of us, my brother cardinals, as we celebrate this morning, I invite you to recognize the marvels that the Lord has done, the blessings that the Lord continues to pour out upon all of us. Through the ministry of Peter, you have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission, and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me as we continue as a church, as a community of friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the Good News, to announce the Gospel.

What a terrible, wonderful burden. God Bless Him.

Featured Image: Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar/Wikimedia Commons.org/cropped/Creative Commons 4.0