“God loves us all, and evil will not prevail.” With these words and a disarming closeness, the new Pope Leo XIV, the first Augustinian Pontiff in the history of the Church, addressed the world from the balcony of the Vatican Basilica.addressed the world from the balcony of the Vatican Basilica on May 8. In his first words as Successor of Peter, he made clear his style: missionary, trusting in God and marked by the spirituality of St. Augustine.
A greeting that is already a program
“Don’t be afraid,” he said in a firm but warm voice. “We are in God’s hands. And with Him, we can walk together. “No unnecessary protocol, no theological speeches: it was a message that went straight to the heart.
Pope Leo XIV presented himself as a shepherd among his ownconscious of the burden he assumed, but also of the grace that accompanied him. “The peace I give you is the peace of Christ. A peace that nothing and no one can take away “.
Augustinian in formation, universal in spirit
The election of an Augustinian Pope is historic. Leo XIV belongs to the Order of St. Augustine, of which he was superior general between 2001 and 2013. His words echo Augustine’s passion for truth, communion and pastoral closeness. truth, communion and pastoral closeness.. His episcopal motto, In illo uno unum, sums up a life dedicated to making of many, one heart in God.
“The Church is like a relay race: one receives the fire and transmits it. Today I receive the fire of faith and I want to walk with everyone,” he said before an excited crowd.
Biography of a shepherd among peoples
Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago, United States, in 1955. He was professed in the Order of St. Augustine in 1981 and was ordained a priest in 1982. He studied Canon Law in Rome, and in 1988 was sent as a missionary to Peru, where he worked for almost two decades, especially in the Apostolic Vicariate of Chulucanas.
In 2001 he was elected Prior General of the AugustiniansHe served as Prior General until 2013. Subsequently, Pope Francis named him Bishop of Chiclayo. bishop of Chiclayo (Peru) in 2014. In 2020 he was called to Rome as a member of the Congregation for Bishops, and in 2023 he was appointed prefect of that Dicastery and created a cardinal.
On May 8, 2025, he was elected Pope with the name of Leo XIVevoking the social legacy of Leo XIII.
An Augustinian heart praying for peace
Among the first words of his greeting as Pope was a powerful prayer:
“May my greeting of peace reach to the farthest corner of the earth.”
Pope Leo XIV stressed that that faith is not an ideology, but an encounter withand that his desire is for the Church to remain “a mother, not a tribunal”. With these phrases, he already marked a pastoral line that picks up the heritage of Pope Francis, but with a new face: fraternal, simple, missionary..
A blessing for the whole Church
From the Order of Augustinian Recollects we welcome with immense joy Pope Leo XIV, our brother in the charism of St. Augustine.our brother in the charism of Saint Augustine. We pray for his pontificate and we place ourselves, as the Prior General has already expressed, at his service, in full communion and with joy, at his service, in full communion and with the joy of being part of this historic moment..