Pope Leo XIV: A biographical timeline May 9, 2025By Maria Wiering OSV News Filed Under: News, Vatican, World News The following are key dates in the life and ministry of Pope Leo XIV, elected May 8, 2025, as the 266th successor to St. Peter: — 1955: Born Sept. 14 in the Chicago area. Pope Francis greets U.S.-born Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, after the cardinal spoke on behalf of himself and 20 other new cardinals created during a consistory in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Sept. 30, 2023. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) — 1977: Graduated from Villanova University near Philadelphia and entered the novitiate for the Order of St. Augustine in St. Louis. — 1978: Professed first vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine. — 1981: Professed solemn vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine. — 1982: Ordained a priest of the Order of St. Augustine. — 1984: Earned a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. — 1985: Sent to work in the mission of Chulucanas, in Piura, Peru, until 1986. — 1987: Elected the vocations director and missions director for his order’s Midwest province, Our Mother of Good Counsel. — 1988: Moved to Trujillo, Peru, to direct a joint formation project for the region’s Augustinian aspirants. Over the course of a decade in Trujillo, he served as the community’s prior (1988-1992), formation director (1988-1998) and as an instructor (1992-1998). U.S.-born Archbishop Robert F. Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, poses for a photograph during an event held in the Barberini hall of the Vatican Library July 19, 2023. (CNS photo/Carol Glatz) — 1989: Began serving the Archdiocese of Trujillo for nine years as its judicial vicar; was also a professor of canon, patristic and moral law in the San Carlos e San Marcelo Major Seminary. — 1999: Elected prior provincial for the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Chicago. — 2001: Promoted to his order’s prior general, considered its supreme authority that oversees its administration and governance. He was reelected to that role in 2007, holding it for a total of 12 years until 2013. — 2013: Served for a year as a “teacher of the professed” and provincial vicar. — 2014: Appointed by Pope Francis to be apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru. He was simultaneously named a bishop, but of the titular diocese Sufar, under which title he was ordained a month later on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. — 2015: Appointed bishop of Chiclayo on Sept. 26. — 2018: Served as second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference until 2023. — 2019: Appointed a member of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy. — 2020: While still bishop of Chiclayo, appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao, Peru, a role he held until May 2021. He was also appointed to the Congregation for Bishops. — 2023: Appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, named president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and granted the title archbishop Jan. 30; installed in those roles April 12. On Sept. 30, elevated to the College of Cardinals. — 2025: Elected pope May 8, taking the name Leo XIV. Read More Vatican News Pope Leo XIV’s installation Mass: A new beginning rooted in tradition Pope Leo XIV on social media: Instagram and X accounts up and growing Pope Leo to diplomats: Church will always speak truth, work for justice In 7 days, Pope Leo XIV has made a mark: Here’s how popes’ first weeks shaped their pontificate Archbishop tells pope visiting Ukraine could help end war Dialogue, bridge-building mark early signs of Pope Leo’s dynamic with Jews, Muslims Copyright © 2025 OSV News Print
