A New Pope Has Been Elected: Here’s What We Know About Leo XIV — The Humble Chicago Schoolboy Who Left Home in 8th Grade
He was always at the top of the class and never broke posture during morning Mass. Later, he taught math and filled in as a substitute physics teacher at a local high school. Now, he leads 1.4 billion Catholics around the world.
The election of Pope Leo XIV marks a historic first for the Roman Catholic Church. Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago’s south suburbs, he is the first American to assume the papacy, and the first member of the Augustinian order to do so. His appointment comes weeks after the death of Pope Francis.
Prevost’s path to the Vatican began when he decided to leave home after eighth grade to join a seminary. From there, his life was shaped by global service, academic rigor, and leadership across continents. He went from living in a brick house in Dolton to one of the most influential roles in the world.
Prevost was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of three sons. His parents, Louis Marius Prevost and Mildred Martínez, raised their family in a modest 1,200-square-foot brick house on East 141st Place in Dolton, just beyond the city’s southern edge.
Louis, a World War II Navy veteran, went on to become superintendent of local schools. Mildred, known to many in their parish as “Millie,” was a librarian, parish volunteer, and longtime member of the Altar and Rosary Society. Together, they built a deeply Catholic household that revolved around faith, service, and community.
The family attended St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, a growing Catholic hub during the postwar suburban boom. Parishioners still recall the Prevosts’ presence at 9:15 a.m. Mass and young Prevost’s early discipline. He served as an altar boy and was considered the top student in his class.
Though reserved, he was known to have a sense of humor and could be playful among peers. Former classmates described him as bright, devout, and respectful, with a quiet confidence and sense of purpose even then. “He was just godly,” one recalled. “Not in an in-your-face way… it was part of his aura.”
After completing eighth grade at St. Mary of the Assumption, Prevost took an uncommon step for a boy his age. Instead of following his brothers to Mendel Catholic High School, he enrolled at St. Augustine Seminary High School in Michigan, operated by the Augustinian order.
From there, he moved on to Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he earned a degree in mathematics in 1977 and studied philosophy. That same year, he entered the Augustinian novitiate in St. Louis. He professed his first vows in 1978 and his solemn vows in 1981, formally joining the order he had committed to as a teenager.