{"id":3964,"date":"2025-05-09T08:10:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T08:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/?p=3964"},"modified":"2025-05-09T08:18:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T08:18:43","slug":"cardinal-robert-francis-prevost-emerges-1st-american-catholic-pontiff-presidents-tinubu-trump-other-world-leaders-congratulate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/2025\/05\/09\/cardinal-robert-francis-prevost-emerges-1st-american-catholic-pontiff-presidents-tinubu-trump-other-world-leaders-congratulate\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost emerges 1st American\u00a0 Catholic Pontiff *Presidents Tinubu, Trump, other world leaders Congratulate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By George Mgbeleke<\/div>\n
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost on Thursday evening emerged as the long awaited Catholic Pope, succeeding his immediate predecessor,\u00a0 late Pope Francis after a rigorous electoral process conducted in line with the\u00a0 procedure for electing new Pontiff in the Catholic Church by cardinals.<\/div>\n
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This exercise kept the whole world sleepless as the eligible cardinals went into prayers, seeking the face of God in the choice of a worthy successor to Pope Francis to mount the seat of Saint Peter who Jesus christ anointed as the leader and first universal Pope to lead his people to his father at the end of their sojourn on earth.<\/div>\n
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The question in the minds Catholics and the rest of the world is ,who is Pope Leo XIV whose initial names were cardinal Robert Francis Prevost?<\/div>\n
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Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is a prominent figure in the Catholic Church, serving as Cardinal-Bishop of Albano and Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for Bishops. Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, he’s a member of the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.). Here are some key facts about him.<\/div>\n
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Early Life and Education<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Prevost holds degrees from Villanova University (Bachelor of Science in Mathematics), Catholic Theological Union in Chicago (Master of Divinity), and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (Licentiate and Doctorate in Canon Law).<\/div>\n
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Career Highlights<\/div>\n
Missionary Work<\/div>\n
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Spent many years as a missionary in Peru, serving as chancellor of the Territorial Prelature of Chulucanas and bishop of Chiclayo.<\/div>\n
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Leadership Roles<\/div>\n
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Elected prior general of the Augustinians, serving two terms from 2001 to 2013.<\/div>\n
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Dicastery for Bishops<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Appointed prefect in January 2023, overseeing bishop appointments worldwide.<\/div>\n
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Cardinalate<\/div>\n
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Elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis on September 30, 2023, and appointed Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Monica.<\/div>\n
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Views and Stances Synodality<\/div>\n
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Strong supporter of synodality, emphasizing the importance of consultation and lay involvement.<\/div>\n
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Same-Sex Couples<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Expressed reservations about sympathy for beliefs contradicting the gospel but showed mild support for Fiducia Supplicans, allowing non-liturgical blessings for couples in irregular situations.<\/div>\n
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Ten things to know about Pope Leo\u2026<\/div>\n
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1. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was on Thursday, 8th of May 2025, elected the new Catholic Pope.<\/div>\n
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2. He was born in Chicago, USA, on September 14, 1955.<\/div>\n
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3. Prevost is a member of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA), and as well the first American pope.<\/div>\n
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4. He will be known as Pope Leo XIV.<\/div>\n
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5. Cardinal Prevost began his religious journey as an Augustinian friar and was ordained a priest in 1982.<\/div>\n
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6. He is fluent in Spanish and has close familiarity with Latin American realities, which have greatly shaped his ecclesial vision.<\/div>\n
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7. In 2014, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Chiclayo in northern Peru.<\/div>\n
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8. In April 2023, he was called to Rome and appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a position of immense responsibility.<\/div>\n
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9. In September 2023, Pope Francis elevated him to the rank of Cardinal, becoming one of the Holy Father\u2019s closest collaborators in the governance of the Church.<\/div>\n
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10. Known for his theological clarity, calm demeanor, and grounded spirituality, Cardinal Prevost also has a profound respect for tradition while remaining sensitive to the pastoral needs of the present day.<\/div>\n
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Since his emergence as the long awaited Catholic Pontiff, prominent world leaders have been sending their congratulatory messages to Vatican city.<\/div>\n
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Tinubu congratulates Pope Leo XIV<\/em><\/p>\n

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has offered his warmest congratulations to His Holiness Leo XIV on his election as the Bishop of Rome and the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

The President also felicitated The Conclave for electing the American Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost as the 267th Bishop of Rome.<\/p>\n

A statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said Tinubu also rejoiced with the leadership of and congregants of the Catholic Church in Nigeria on the historic election of the new Pontiff whose message of faith and hope already resonates across the globe, with a reassurance from the scriptures of a more peaceful world.<\/p>\n

Tinubu affirmed the valued relations shared between Nigeria and the Holy See over many years while acknowledging the rewarding partnership with the Catholic Church in peacebuilding, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and, more recently, the promotion of technology in advancing human capacity.<\/p>\n

Tinubu said that he believes the election of Pope Leo XIV opens a new chapter in the history of the Catholic Church and the values of love, humanity and charity, particularly to the underprivileged that it has consistently projected.<\/p>\n

He prayed that the Almighty God will continuously shed His light of glory over the new leader of the Catholic Church and grant him good health and wisdom so that he can reach the world with the message of peace and love.<\/p>\n

Similarly, President\u00a0Donald Trump of United States of America\u00a0<\/em>on Thursday reacted to the election of new Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the United States, as a great honour for the United States on his Truth Social Network.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is such an honour to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

Robert Francis Prevost, who will be addressed as Pope Leo Xiv, aged 69-year-old emerged as the new pope of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By George Mgbeleke Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost on Thursday evening emerged as the long awaited Catholic Pope, succeeding his immediate predecessor,\u00a0 late Pope Francis after a rigorous electoral process conducted in line with the\u00a0 procedure for electing new Pontiff in the Catholic Church by cardinals. This exercise kept the whole world sleepless as the eligible […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2535,2536,2538,2539,1923,2542,2537,2541,2540],"class_list":["post-3964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-emerge","tag-predecessor","tag-prevost","tag-procedure","tag-prominent","tag-reservation","tag-succeed","tag-synodality-liturgical","tag-universal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3964"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3968,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3964\/revisions\/3968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}