12 things to know about Pope Leo XIV, known to his siblings as 'Bob'

For the first time, the 2,000-year-old church is now led by an American, the former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who also holds a Peruvian citizenship.

He represents both continuity and change for the world's Catholics.

The new pontiff has called for peace amid ongoing conflicts and wished everyone a happy Mother’s Day at Mass on Sunday.

The following are 12 things you need to know about Pope Leo.

#1. Bob, the tennis lover

The former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, elected as the Catholic Church’s 267th Pope, is a tennis-loving, wordle-playing, White Sox fan from Chicago. He is more affectionately known to his siblings as “Bob”.

#2. Mathematics major

As a student, Prevost studied mathematics at Villanova University, earning a degree in the field. He also briefly taught math part-time and substituted as a physics teacher while pursuing his divinity degree at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. 

#3. Native English speaker:

Pope Leo XIV is the first native English-speaking successor of Peter, since Pope Adrian IV of England, who died on December 4, 1154.

#4. No English

On his first address as pope, Pope Leo XIV spoke no word of English. Rather, he addressed the world in Italian, Spanish and Latin. 

#5. Pontiff

Pontiff is another name for the pope, and comes from a Latin word, meaning “bridge builder.” It was used as a title for some of the priests of ancient Rome. His signature includes the notation "P.P.," meaning "Pontifex Pontificum," a traditional feature of papal signatures.

#6. Bridge builder

He told an estimated 150,000 people gathered at the Vatican of the need to proclaim the gospel of peace and build bridges. Then led the crowd gathered at St Peter’s Square to pray the “Hail Mary”, in Italian.

#7. No clue

Ahead of the conclave that elected Cardinal Robert Prevost to head the world’s 1.4 Catholics, there was a scramble for clues. Though Cardinal Prevost was seen as papabile — pope-worthy — few thought an American would be chosen. The name of Prevost was not among the frontrunners that the media had talked about. 

#8. Unknown outside

Cardinal Tim Dolan of New York, who also took part in the conclave told US media in that in the days prior to the conclave, Cardinals from other parts of the world had asked him whether he knew Prevost or not. Dolan’s answer: “No”.

#9. What’s in a name

In choosing his papal name, Leo XIV has signified a commitment to dynamic social issues, according to experts. The first pontiff to use the name “Leo” (whose papacy ended in) 461, met Attila the Hun and persuaded him not to attack Rome.

#10. The last pope named Leo

Pope Leo XIII led the Church from 1878 to 1903, and came to be known as “The Pope of the Workers” because of his groundbreaking 1891 encyclical on the “Rerum novarum”, or Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor. Pope Leo XIII issued the an encyclical issued on May 15, 1891, which provided the outline for modern Catholic social justice teaching. Pope Leo XIII also wrote 12 encyclicals about the Rosary. He is often referred to as the "Pope of the Rosary" for his strong promotion of the devotion. 

#11. “Habemus Papam”

Cardinal Dominique François Joseph Mamberti, the Cardinal Protodeacon (responsible for announcing the new Pope), was born in 1952 in Marrakech, Morocco. He is a noted Vatican diplomat, former Secretary for Relations with States, Mambert is a staunch advocate for religious freedom and the right to life, as per the The College of Cardinals Report. 

#12. 2-day conclave:

The 133 cardinals took just two days to choose Leo XIV, locked inside the Sistine Chapel. The word "conclave" comes from con clave—“with a key”—a tradition that began in 1268 when it took cardinals nearly three years to elect a pope. Citizens, frustrated, locked them in, rationed their food, and even removed the roof to hurry them along.