Question 1

Who is Pope Leo XIV?

Accepted Answer

Pope Leo XIV is the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, elected on 8 May 2025. Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955, he is the first US-born pope, an Augustinian friar who spent decades in Peru as a missionary and Bishop of Chiclayo, and previously led the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops.

Question 2

How old is Pope Leo XIV?

Accepted Answer

Pope Leo XIV was born on 14 September 1955 in Chicago. He turns 71 on 14 September 2026, and is 70 for most of that year. He was 69 at the time of his election on 8 May 2025.

Question 3

Where was Pope Leo XIV born?

Accepted Answer

Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, on 14 September 1955. He is the first pope born in the United States. He also holds Peruvian citizenship, which he acquired in 2015.

Question 4

Is Pope Leo XIV American?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago and is the first US-born pope. He is also a naturalised citizen of Peru, where he spent much of his ministry, so he holds both American and Peruvian citizenship.

Question 5

Why did Pope Leo choose the name Leo XIV?

Accepted Answer

He told the cardinals on 10 May 2025 that he chose 'Leo' after Pope Leo XIII, whose 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum addressed the social crisis of the industrial revolution. Leo XIV casts artificial intelligence and automation as a comparable challenge to human dignity and work.

Question 6

Does Pope Leo XIV speak Spanish?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Pope Leo XIV is fluent in Spanish after decades living and working in Peru, and often uses it publicly. He also speaks English, Italian, French and Portuguese, and reads Latin and German.

Question 7

Did Pope Leo XIV live in Peru?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for much of his adult life. He first went to Peru as an Augustinian missionary in 1985, taught and served in Trujillo through the 1990s, and was Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He became a Peruvian citizen in 2015.

Question 8

Where does Pope Leo XIV live?

Accepted Answer

Pope Leo XIV lives in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. He resumed the traditional papal residence, which Pope Francis had declined in favour of the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse.

Question 9

What languages does Pope Leo XIV speak?

Accepted Answer

Pope Leo XIV speaks English (his first language), Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese, and reads Latin and German. His years in Peru and in the Roman Curia account for this range.

Question 10

What number pope is Leo XIV?

Accepted Answer

Pope Leo XIV is generally counted as the 267th pope, succeeding Pope Francis. He is the 14th pope to take the name Leo; the previous one, Leo XIII, reigned from 1878 to 1903.

Question 11

What has Pope Leo XIV said about artificial intelligence?

Accepted Answer

Pope Leo XIV has made AI a defining theme. His first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas (25 May 2026), argues that artificial intelligence must safeguard the human person, serve the common good, protect workers and not concentrate power in a few hands.

Question 12

Has Pope Leo XIV travelled abroad?

Accepted Answer

Yes. His first foreign trip was to Turkey and Lebanon (27 November – 2 December 2025), marking the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea. In 2026 he has visited Monaco, four African countries, and Spain, with a journey to France scheduled for 25–28 September 2026.

Questions about Pope Leo XIV