Politics
Chicago-Area Catholics React to Pope Leo XIV: ‘Wow, We Had the Current Pope at Our House’
Video: Joining “Chicago Tonight” to discuss Pope Leo XIV are the Rev. Paddy Gilger, of Loyola University, Paula McQuade of DePaul University, Heidi Schlumpf of the National Catholic Reporter, and Scott Alexander of the Catholic Theological Union. (Produced by Bridgette Adu-Wadier)
Chicago has a hometown pope.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was born in Chicago and grew up in south suburban Dolton, will now be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Prevost, 69, became the first American ever elected pope and will succeed Pope Francis as the leader of the Catholic Church and its more than 1 billion members. The Chicago native is also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.
Father Gregory Sakowicz, rector of Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, said he was in “absolute shock” when Prevost was named pope.
“When he was named, at that moment I looked outside, here in Chicago, the sun came out,” Sakowicz said.
The Rev. Paddy Gilger, assistant professor of sociology at Loyola University Chicago, says the swift decision indicated that the cardinals were able to come together and trust Prevost for the job.
“If you would have pressed me, I would have guaranteed that we were not going to have a pope by Thursday,” said Gilger. “There’s so many new people who needed to get to know one another and talk about what the church really needed. I thought, ‘OK, no way; I can rest easy for Thursday, at least, before we have to do some more things on Friday.’ But this quick arrival really shows that this man was offering something in his own personality, in his relationship with these other cardinals, in the way he was able to navigate some of the needs of the church.”
He evoked his broad experience in his first public remarks as pope, speaking in Italian, then switching to Spanish — and saying not a word in English as he addressed the crowd in Saint Peter’s Square.
He had prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals have.
Prevost was twice elected prior general, or top leader, of the Augustinians, the 13th century religious order founded by St. Augustine. Francis clearly had an eye on him for years, moving him from the Augustinian leadership back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and later archbishop of Chiclayo.
He remained in that position, acquiring Peruvian citizenship in 2015, until Francis brought him to Rome in 2023 to assume the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. In that job he would have kept in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in the part of the world that counts the most Catholics.
Ever since arriving in Rome, Prevost has kept a low public profile, but he was well known to the men who count.
Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope.
Prevost, 69, had to overcome the taboo against an American pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the U.S. in the secular sphere.
Heidi Schlumpf, senior correspondent at the National Catholic Reporter, says Prevost’s global background could have been a factor that worked in his favor.
“He’s described as the least American of the American cardinals,” said Schlumpf. “It was key to him being elected. So, especially when we saw the news coming on the fourth vote, I was surprised it was an American but I was also surprised that it was a little earlier than I had expected. I think it shows that the cardinal electors came together and agreed on him as a candidate rather quickly.”
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV’s brother John Prevost told ABC News that when the now pope was in first grade, a neighbor said that he was going to the first American pope. Robert Prevost already knew at that age he was going to be a priest, his brother said in the interview.
John Prevost also said he heard reports his brother might be a contender to be pope a few days after Pope Francis died. “I spoke to him Tuesday before he went into the conclave, and he just kept saying, ‘No, that’s not true, that’s not true,’” John Prevost said about his brother to ABC News. “He’s pushing it away, hoping it would go away. It didn’t go away.”
In the Chicago area, local Catholics were quick to react to the news of his appointment.
For the Very Rev. Anthony Pizzo, a friar with the Midwest Augustinians in Chicago, the new pope is an old friend.
He last texted the fellow Augustinian after Pope Francis died.
Pizzo and Prevost have known each other since 1974 when they met at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Pizzo describes Pope Leo XIV, who he called “Bob” at the time, as “very friendly, very open, a great companion, a good friend, a personal friend.”
Pizzo said Prevost showed up to support him during special events in his life like when he was ordained as a priest and when he held the funerals of both his parents.
“I brought him home to my Italian family a few occasions to have a good pasta dinner, so my two sisters who are around are excited,” Pizzo said. “They’re saying, ‘Wow, we had the current pope at our house years ago!’”
Pizzo said he thinks his old friend chose the name Leo XIV because of Leo XIII’s work as the first pope to write a social encyclical about the treatment of workers. Pizzo said he’s not surprised that Prevost will help carry on that legacy.
“He’s going to continue to make a tremendous difference in his pastoral vision, his pastoral outreach, being inclusive and open, but not afraid to say what he needs to say on behalf of those who are vulnerable, especially,” Pizzo said.
Prevost studied at Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1977, and he got a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982.
Sr. Barbara Reid, president of the Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, sees continuity between the papacy of his predecessor and the views of the new pope.
“He has very definitely honed those theological skills and pastoral skills in the same kinds of directions that Pope Francis has set,” Reid said. “I expect he’ll be very committed to continuing to form a church that works in synodality as Pope Francis has been trying to lead us to do.”
Synodality refers to the importance of cooperation and collaboration in the church’s work.
Scott Alexander, director of the Interschool Doctor of Ministry program at Catholic Theological Union, noted the school pride felt on Thursday.
“We’re thrilled at Catholic Theological Union because Pope Leo is an alumnus of our institution,” said Alexander. “Today, the entire school was just rejoicing over the fact that we have a man as leader of the universal church that seems truly up to the job and qualified, but that who’s someone who’s deeply connected to our community here. It just makes us feel even more connected to the universal church.”
Maria Luisa Ugarte was born in Peru and now lives in Chicago working at St. Augustine College. Ugarte, a practicing Catholic, said she felt a special connection after learning that Prevost was an apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao, the town where she was born in Peru.
“This incredible news just hits home at every level,” Ugarte said. “I just felt so connected and just wanna cry about the fact that he’s a champion for workers because I’m a social worker.”
Ugarte describes Prevost being chosen as pope as a tremendous moment for the Catholic community and for Peruvians all over the world. Ugarte said it also gives hope to the most vulnerable in communities such as workers, immigrants and the poor.
“The fact that he’s American and is familiar with Latin America, he will be such a strong advocate for all of our communities that need him with the threat of resources and funding being taken away from all of us and the threats of deportation that are scary and frightening all of us,” Ugarte said.
Ugarte said she is excited to celebrate the news of the new pope with her community at Saint Mary of the Lake Catholic Church and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.
“Renewed hope and renewed faith, which I feel that many people need,” Ugarte said. “Some of us that have either left the church, not sure, uncertain. I believe that people will come back.”
Providence Catholic High School, an Augustinian school in southwest suburban New Lenox, shared photos of a recent Mass at the school at which Prevost was a guest.
“His recent visit to Providence Catholic in August, during which he celebrated a special Mass for our Celtic community, makes this announcement all the move meaningful to us,” the school’s statement reads.
St. Rita High School, an Augustinian run school on the South Side, called the new pope “one of our own” and described him as an honorary alumnus.
The Associated Press contributed.
