A résumé of deep religious education, frontline pastoral experience, parish management and Vatican governance — along with a nudge from Pope Francis — put Robert Prevost on the fast track.The New York Times reports that Father Robert Prevost intervened when Peruvian soldiers attempted to forcibly recruit a group of young seminarians in the mid-1990s. The soldiers had stopped and boarded a minibus carrying the American priest and the seminarians, who were on a mission to re-enact scenes from the country’s turbulent past. Father Prevost, citing a law exempting clerics from military service, told the soldiers to back off and explained that the young men were destined to become priests. This bold act of defiance was just one example of Father Prevost’s courage and dedication to promoting peace and healing in a country scarred by violence and political turmoil. Now, as Pope Leo XIV, he brings his extensive experience in religious education, pastoral work, and Vatican governance to the global stage, at a time when authoritarianism, technological disruption, and social inequality threaten the most vulnerable. Pope Francis, who played a key role in Pope Leo XIV’s rise to the papacy, has high hopes for his successor’s ability to lead the Roman Catholic Church and address the pressing issues of our time.
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