Who he was
Born in Chicago, he studied mathematics at Villanova, joined the Order of St Augustine in 1977 and was ordained in Rome in 1982 after studying canon law. He spent many years as a missionary in Peru, was twice elected Prior General of the Augustinians, and in 2015 became Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru. In 2023 Pope Francis called him to Rome as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and made him a cardinal.
What he is remembered for
Elected on 8 May 2025, he is the first pope from the United States and the first Augustinian pope. His first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te (2025), is on love for the poor, and his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas (2026), is on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. He is the reigning pope.
Sources
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