Robert Prevost, a missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and leads the Vatican's powerful office of bishops, was elected the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

(Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) For many South Siders and White Sox fans, the news of Robert Prevost’s election to head of the Roman Catholic Church was nothing less than a godsend during these ...

Taking the name Leo XIV, the American was elected to be the 267th pontiff and spiritual leader of the world's 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.

The conclave has elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, an American-born cleric, as the new popeNow the 267th pontiff, he will be known as Pope Leo XIV as he assumes the mantle of spiritual leadership over more than 1.

In one of Chicago’s south suburbs, while other boys were playing cops and robbers, the future Pope Leo XIV would pretend to hold Mass in the basement of his family’s small brick home, reading from scripture and distributing disk-shaped candy wafers to his two older brothers.

I don’t think he is going to go, pull the church hard left,” Prevost also said. “I think he’s going to be down the middle.”

He visited and stayed overnight on several occasions at the school located on Padre Damián street, where he is remembered as "a man who listened a lot and sought unity among divergences.". "The Pope has friendships in Madrid and used to come here a lot,

Incoming Pope Leo XIV faces what some call the most-challenging environment for religion in China since Mao Tse-tung.