First Thoughts: The new pope

Where has Leo XIV come from and what kind of pontiff is he going to be?

Hello! I know, two Critical Friends in one day! I’m spoiling you all. Given the massive news which irritatingly broke in the hours between writing this week’s newsletter and it landing in your inboxes, I thought it was only fair not to make you wait another seven days for some commentary on Pope Leo XIV.

Below, we go into his own backstory as a missionary and then bishop in Peru, his Augustinian religious order, what we can discern of his politics and antipathy to Trumpism, whether he intends to follow in Francis’s footsteps or carve out his own path, and where he stands on some of the big issues facing the Catholic church today.

But as with all First Thoughts posts it is for paying subscribers only. You can join those hallowed ranks for just £5 a month though, by clicking here:

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So, Cardinal Robert Prevost will be the next Pope, taking the name Leo XIV. I’m not going to pretend I knew anything about him until his name started cropping up towards the bottom of a few of those lists of contenders a week ago. But having read around this morning, here are some early thoughts and links to better-informed comments too.

Prevost/Leo was born in Chicago, and in his 20s entered the Augustinian order. Augustinian friars live in community and follow the Rule of Life drawn up by St Augustine (the 4th-century church father). Leo is the first ever Augustinian pope (interestingly, his predecessor Francis was the first ever pope from his separate order, the Jesuits).

Leo was ordained a priest in Rome in 1982, and shortly afterwards (while still completing his doctoral thesis) he was sent to the Augustinian mission in Peru. He spent over a decade there, rising up the ranks and teaching theology also. He then returned to Chicago in late 1990s, and spent two years leading the Augustinians there.