Pope Francis brought Robert Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 because the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations, some of the necessary jobs within the Catholic Church. On Thursday, he ascended to grow to be Pope Leo XIV — the primary pope from the U.S.
Prevost, 69, had to beat the taboo against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States within the secular sphere.
The Chicago native can be a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary after which as an archbishop.
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