♦ American Cardinal Robert Prevost (69) was elected as the 267th pope on May 8, 2025.

♦ He chose the paple name Leo XIV following his election.

♦ He is elected the first American pope in history, succeeding Pope Francis. Now he is leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

♦ Robert was born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Leo served as an altar boy and was ordained in 1982.