A photo of American-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was recently unveiled as the leader of the Catholic Church, taken in Nigeria some years ago, has surfaced on social media.
It would be recalled that the new Pope was announced in Rome to the waiting crowds at Saint Peter’s Basilica by Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti on Thursday evening.
This came shortly after white smoke billowed above the Sistine Chapel, signaling that the cardinals have selected the 267th leader of the Catholic Church, on the second day of the conclave.
Announcing the new Pope, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, a 73-year-old Frenchman born in Morocco, said: “I announce to you a great joy, We have a Pope. The most eminent and the reverend Robert Francis.”
However, a photo of the new Pope taken with Augustinian brothers in Nigeria when he was the superior of the Order of Saint Augustine has surfaced on social media, causing a stir.
Reacting, a user commented: “He seems like a nice guy and a humble fellow. May the good Lord guide and direct his steps. Congratulations once again, Pope Leo!”
Another user remarked: The new Pope is said to have once been to Nigeria when he visited his Augustinian brothers! May he reign
One users stated God bless the Pope, non Catholics make Una keep crying with black Pope yen yen yen. We Catholics are not concerned about colour. Una just dey cry Dey try bring one rahbish narrative. But we no send Una sha. Let me leave at this. God bless the Pope, God bless the mother Church.
What to know about the new Pope
Meanwhile, prior to his election as Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Prevost was Prefect of the Dicastery for the Bishops.
TNG reports the new Roman Pontiff was created Cardinal in 2024 by the late Pope Francis.
Pope Leo XIV, just like the late Pope Francis, is from the Americas. However, unlike Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 69-year-old new Pope is from the northern part of the continent.
He was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, to Louis Marius Prevost, of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martínez, of Spanish descent. He has two brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph.
He spent his childhood and adolescence with his family and studied first at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers and then at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where in 1977 he earned a Degree in Mathematics and also studied Philosophy.
On September 1 of the same year, Prevost entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.) in Saint Louis, in the Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Chicago, and made his first profession on September 2, 1978. On August 29, 1981, he made his solemn vows.
The Pontiff received his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. At the age of 27, he was sent by his superiors to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum).
In Rome, he was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica by Archbishop Jean Jadot, then pro-president of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, which later became the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and then the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
Prevost obtained his licentiate in 1984 and the following year, while preparing his doctoral thesis, was sent to the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, Piura, Peru (1985–1986).
In 1987, he defended his doctoral thesis on “The Role of the Local Prior in the Order of Saint Augustine” and was appointed vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Olympia Fields, Illinois (USA).