From Elise Ann Allen, journalist and Rome correspondent for Crux, comes this intimate biography of Pope Leo XIV, including his first-ever public interview as pope. On May 8, 2025, the whole world watched with great anticipation as white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, and the new pope who emerged to greet us from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica was a surprise to all. He was a man no one expected, a “dark horse candidate,” as the media came to call him, and the first-ever American to be elected--Robert Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV. But why him? What did the other cardinals see in Robert Prevost? Who is Leo XIV? How did his path lead him to the Holy See, and what can we expect from him? Elise Ann Allen offers here the only biography of Pope Leo XIV, featuring an interview―the Holy Father’s very first interview--after his election. She gives readers an intimate and detailed account of the life of Robert Prevost, from his birth in Chicago and his first years as a priest in the Augustinian order to his years as a missionary in Peru and the vital role he came to play in the Vatican as head of bishops. The result is an inspiring picture of a man of profound character, spiritual leadership, integrity, warmth, and citizenship in the world. This biography is replete with personal stories and reflections from those who know Leo XIV personally, details of his pastoral ministry over the years, and analysis of his global perspective as a dual citizen of the United States and Peru.

Autorentext
Elise Ann Allen is a correspondent in Rome for the specialized media outlet Crux. Before joining Crux, Allen worked with Catholic News Agency, first as a multimedia and content management assistant in Denver, Colorado. She holds a degree in philosophy and communication from the University of Northern Colorado.

Klappentext

A deeply personal biography of Pope Leo XIV, featuring his first-ever public interview as pope, from Elise Ann Allen, journalist and Rome correspondent for Crux.

“An extraordinary achievement . . . a masterful and amazingly intimate portrait of our new pope.”—Austen Ivereigh, biographer of Pope Francis

On May 8, 2025, the whole world watched with great anticipation as white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, and the new pope who emerged to greet us from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica was a surprise to all. He was a man no one expected, a “dark horse candidate,” as the media came to call him, and the first-ever American to be elected—Robert Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV.

But why him? What did the other cardinals see in Robert Prevost? Who is Leo XIV? How did his path lead him to the Holy See, and what can we expect from him?

Elise Ann Allen offers here the only biography of Pope Leo XIV, featuring the Holy Father’s very first interview after his election. She gives readers an intimate and detailed account of the life of Robert Prevost, from his birth in Chicago and his first years as a priest in the Augustinian order to his years as a missionary in Peru and the vital role he came to play in the Vatican as head of bishops. The result is an inspiring picture of a man of profound character, spiritual leadership, integrity, warmth, and citizenship in the world.

This biography is replete with revealing stories and reflections from those who know Leo XIV personally, details of his pastoral ministry over the years, and analysis of his global perspective as a dual citizen of the United States and Peru.

Pope Leo XIV is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the Church’s pastor—his priorities, convictions, and vision for the future of faith.

Leseprobe
1

Roots

Family and the Vocation of the Young Prevost

White smoke. The chimney of the Sistine Chapel had been the most watched place in the world for two consecutive days when it received the sudden visit from two seagulls with white heads and gray wings. This image of them alongside a baby seagull began to circulate on the internet in videos and photos as a positive sign for the Church. These birds often fly to the roof of the Sistine Chapel, when it begins to warm each time there is a smoke signal brewing, whether black or white, indicating an imminent announcement of the cardinals' conclave over sixty feet below. Millions of people from across the world were waiting anxiously for the white smoke to rise after two instances of black smoke and four rounds of voting, one round less than when Pope Francis was elected in March 2013. It was a very quick decision, according to experts, especially considering it took place in the context of a perceived polarized setting with those eagerly awaiting a decision wondering whether the cardinals would elect someone who would continue the path already traced, change it, or take some steps backward. So, at 6:07 p.m. on May 8, 2025, the white smoke was met with commotion and an explosion of applause by the faithful, tourists, and curious bystanders that filled St. Peter's Square and the streets of the Vatican. Just one hour and six minutes later, at 7:13 p.m., Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti dispelled all doubts from the balcony of the basilica: Habemus Papam. We have a pope.

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding each conclave is what goes on in the minds of the cardinals-in this case a total of 133-as they elect a new pope. What are they thinking about? What are their criteria? In their minds, who has the profile to be the next pope? Who, in their judgments, are the candidates with the best chance of being elected? No one except the cardinals knows the answers to these questions. Nonetheless, after each historic election by the College of Cardinals, or Collegium Cardinalium, details about the motivations that informed the cardinals' choice of pope begin to emerge.

Around the conclave of May 7-8, 2025, rumors were circulating about who the cardinals wanted: a pope who would continue Pope Francis's agenda of promoting synodality and focusing attention on the poor, and someone with the ability to govern, to deal with the financial problems of the Vatican, and to address the crisis brought on by the allegations of sexual abuse. They wanted a well-balanced figure who would be able to create unity and communion in a Church and wider society marked by division.

The person they chose, with support that far exceeded the two-thirds majority required, or a total of eighty-nine or more votes, was the sixty-nine-year-old American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. The new pope took the name of Leo XIV in honor of Pope Leo XIII, the author of the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which established the social doctrine of the Church that dealt with the challenges of the Industrial Revolution. Thus, the new pope chose a name that symbolizes courage, leadership, and vigilance.

The day after Prevost's election, in a press conference on May 9, 2025, the American cardinals explained the criteria that led them to vote for him. They based their decision not on his actions, his words, or even his profile but on his style. "I think what was important was not the substance of what he said, but the manner with which he said it." stated Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington. The image of The Last Judgment by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, he recounted, was an evocative reminder as he entered the conclave, and it led him to select his candidate carefully. Once Cardinal McElroy entered the chapel, all sense of divisions in the world disappeared. "I felt we were looking at that moment into the souls of one another to find who should carry on this incredibly important mission at this moment in time. I really think in the discernment that went on and in the prayer that went on, we were looking for the soul who has the c…