Leo XIV timeline: First pope from US in history of Catholic Church

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Catholic cardinals broke tradition on Thursday (May 8, 2025) and elected the first U.S. Pope, making Chicago-born missionary Robert Prevost the 267th pontiff to lead the Catholic Church in a global turmoil and conflict.

The path of Robert Prevost from his birth in Chicago in 1955 to his elevation as the first American pope in Rome on May 8, 2025, included significant milestones in the religious order of the Augustinians as well as ministry in Peru.

Here’s a brief timeline:

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