Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
He is the first American to be elected as the head of the Catholic church.
He is the first American to be elected as the head of the Catholic church.
The white smoke
On the just second day of the Conclave, white smoke arose from the famous chimny, meaning a new pop was elected.
The first American pope
Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, chose the Papal name Leo, making him Pope Leo XIV. He is the first American ever to be elected pope, and here is all you need to know about him. He was promoted to cardinal-bishop by Pope Francis in February of 2025.
Mathematician
Born in Chicago, Prevost got his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Villanova University, Pennsylvania, and after that he got his diploma in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.
Canon Law
He was ordained in 1982 at the age of 27 and got his doctorate in Canon Law at St. Aquinas in Rome.
10 years in Peru
From 1988 and ten years on, he was the head of the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo, Peru, where he taught canon low, acted as judge in the regional ecclasiastical court and served as prefedt for studies, amongst other things.
Back to the U.S.
Returning to the U.S., Prevost was elected pior provincial of the Order of St. Augustin’s Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Chicago i 1998. Here he permitted an Augustinian priest, who was suspended due to credible accusaions of sexual abuse of minors, to reside in St. John Stone Friar in Chicago under supervision.
Prior General and Bishop of Chiclayo
In 2001, Prevost was elected Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, serving two six-year terms, and in 2014, Prevost was appointed as Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, and titular bishop of Sufar.
Accusations of cover-up
In 2022, alleged victims om abuse in 2007 by two priests claimed that Prevost failed to investigate their case. Prevost met with the alleged victims in 2022 and encouraged them to take their case to the civili authorities while also launching an initial canonical investigation, eventually ending in the charges being dropped, according to an article in Snap Network.
Not another Pope Francis
While Pope Leo XIV is viewed as a man fihgting for mirgants and poor, he is described as less forthecoming regarding questions about LGBTQ+. In a speech held in 2012, he complained that Western News Media promoted “sympathy for faith and pracsis contrary to the Gospel”.
Criticized Trumps policies
Many in the U.S. have pointed out that the new pope is allegedly a registeret Republican. That being said, he has publically criticized J.D. Vance, after the VP gave his interpetration of the Catholic Doctrine regarding migrants.
“Vance is wrong”
The Doctrine states that one should first and foremost take care of ones family and society, and then others – like migrants – should be move down the order. The newly elected pope shared an article titled “J.D. Vance is wrong” in response adding on X: “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our lov for others”.
A moderate or centrist
All in all, the new pope is seen as a moderist or centrist regarding social and political issues. He opposes ordinating women to the diaconate according to New Catholic Register, and has previously opposed gender ideology, stating that it promotes “genders that don’t exist”, according to The New York Times.