Robert Francis Prevost was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton.  His parents were Louis Marius Prevost, an educator, and Mildred Martínez, a librarian. Robert also has two brothers, Louis Martin Prevost and John Joseph Prevost.

Prevost completed his undergraduate education at Villanova University, where he earned a bachelor of science in mathematics in 1977. Prevost then earned a master of divinity degree from Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union in 1982 and was ordained a priest that same year. He later picked up licentiate and doctorate degrees in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Much of Prevost’s early ministry took place in Peru. He joined the country’s Augustinian mission in 1985 and, while in the country, oversaw the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo and taught canon law before returning to Chicago in 1999.  Prevost went back to Peru in 2014 after Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo. A year later, he acquired Peruvian citizenship.

A reflection of his global outreach, Prevost is fluent in five languages—English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French.

In January 2023, Francis called Prevost to the Vatican to serve as leader of the Dicastery for Bishops, the office that selects bishops around the world. Prevost presided over one of Pope Francis’ most notable reforms that added three women to the voting base that decides which bishop nominations are forwarded to the pope.

Later that year, on September 30, Francis appointed Prevost a cardinal. Yet another new responsibility was added to his plate in 2023 when he became president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Prevost is considered an overall centrist in his ideologies. However, he is more progressive when it comes to social issues and champions the poor and migrants. Leo has also forcefully supported efforts to manage the impacts of climate change.