Monseñor Robert, Andean Pope by Choice

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born a son of Argentina, whereas Robert Francis Prevost is an adopted son of Perú. Where Padre Jorge spoke of mercy from the Buenos Aires slums he knew, Monseñor Robert learned compassion riding horseback to remote villages in the Andes. 

Leo XIV’s path to the papacy was forged not in the hallways of American church politics nor in the corridors of Vatican intrigue, but in the dust of Lambayeque, in the crowded peripheries of Trujillo, and at the heart of the Augustinian Order. His ascendance to the Papacy is not just another Latin American story, but a proper Peruvian odyssey.

A Principled Missionary in Peru

In 1985, thirty-year-old Augustinian friar Robert Francis Prevost arrived in Chulucanas, a remote region of Piura, Peru, as a Catholic missionary, with a simple and yet profound mission: to serve the poor and forgotten in communities often overlooked by their own fellow countrymen.

As Chancellor and Vicar of the Cathedral of Chulucanas, he became a familiar presence in those rural parishes which he reached on horseback, and where his pastoral care brought hope to communities abandoned by the Peruvian state. By 1987, he had moved to Trujillo, where his role expanded as he taught Canon Law, Patristics, and Moral Theology at the local seminary, and served as Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese.

But his impact was not limited to lecture halls, for Padre Prevost was still known for riding to distant villages, preaching to the poor, and listening to their struggles. This early ministry was one of real presence and constant, humble dedication to the people of northern Peru. During that period, Prevost played a pivotal role in the Augustinians' efforts to recruit candidates for the priesthood. As the turbulent years of the Fujimori administration went on, he also showed the first signs of his defence of human dignity above political divides: he became a vocal critic of the President and condemned the atrocities of both the anti-communist Peruvian Army’s Colina Group and the Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path.

An Augustinian Leader With Global Perspective

In 1998, Prevost was elected Prior Provincial of the local Augustinian province back in Chicago, and three years later, in 2001, he became Prior General of the whole Augustinian Order.  

After more than a decade in Peru, this new role brought him to Rome, and as leader of the Order, he travelled to nearly 50 countries and he governed it with a vision shaped by his missionary past: close to the poor, spiritually grounded in community, with humble leadership. 

At the same time, not being a bishop himself did not prevent him from being the only Augustinian representative at the Synods of 2005, 2008, and 2012, nor from contributing to crucial debates from the Church’s very centre.

This experience as leader of a global ecclesiastical order seems to have prepared him for the complexity of future Vatican governance. And yet, he had to return once more to his adopted homeland to further fine-tune his pastoral skills to the role of prominence he would later rise to.

From Bishop to Pope

In 2015, Pope Francis appointed Prevost as Bishop of Chiclayo back in Perú, a poor diocese he had served as interim Apostolic Administrator the year prior. It was a return to the land that had formed him. Prevost became a naturalised Peruvian citizen that same year, in a gesture that legally reflected his bond to the country.

His leadership in Chiclayo was once again marked by action and outreach: he travelled across the region, personally visiting parishes in remote communities and engaging directly with the faithful. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, he launched the 'Oxygen for Hope' campaign, securing medical supplies for overwhelmed hospitals. In 2023, as the Yaku cyclone displaced thousands, Prevost initiated the 'Peru Lends a Hand' relief campaign, ensuring aid reached the most isolated. For his flock, Monseñor Robert was not just a shepherd but a lifeline for those in crisis, an authentic ‘bishop of the people’.

Yet his tenure was not free of controversy: accusations emerged of him covering up abuse cases within the diocese. His defenders, including prominent local journalist Pedro Salinas, argued that these were smear campaigns, particularly from the disgraced Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana he had helped shut down for their own abuses.

2023 also marked a decisive turning point in Prevost’s ministry, as Pope Francis appointed him Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and elevated him to Cardinal. A year and a half later, he was elected Pope, with a progression just as swift as the previous one—when he turned from peripheral bishop in Peru to being one of the most influential figures in the Vatican. The enduring connection to his land of adoption was signified most clearly by the immense joy that spread throughout the country, to the point that the President declared ‘God Loves Perú’.

It is still early to tell if he might echo the same progressive message that made Francis beloved by Western elites. However, if his Peruvian journey is any clue, Leo XIV will not simply amount to another feel-good Latin American pope, but will be a true representative of the Global South, defined by his solidarity with those little forgotten whom he has known, and who have known him, at least for the last forty years.

Statement

Leo XIV is not merely another Latin American pope, he is a pope of the Global South by choice, not by birth. From the Andean highlands of Peru to the corridors of the Vatican, his journey has been one of lived-out solidarity with the forgotten. Riding to remote villages, confronting human rights abuses, and leading relief efforts, Leo XIV’s papacy is grounded in the realities of a world often neglected by power. As the Church’s new leader, his Peruvian odyssey suggests a pontificate defined by humility, action, and a deep, enduring connection to the marginalised.