Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A. | |
---|---|
Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops | |
![]() Prevost in 2014 | |
Church | Catholic Church |
Appointed | January 30, 2023 |
Installed | April 12, 2023 |
Predecessor | Marc Ouellet |
Other post(s) | Cardinal-Bishop of Albano (2025–present) President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America |
Previous post(s) |
|
Orders | |
Ordination | June 19, 1982 by Jean Jadot |
Consecration | December 12, 2014 by James Patrick Green |
Created cardinal | September 30, 2023 by Pope Francis |
Rank | Cardinal Bishop |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert Francis Prevost September 14, 1955 |
Alma mater | |
Motto | In illo uno unum (In the one Christ we are one) |
Styles of Robert Francis Prevost | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Reference style | His Eminence |
Spoken style | Your Eminence |
Informal style | Cardinal |
Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A. (born September 14, 1955) is an American Catholic who has served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America since 2023. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015 to 2023, and was prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013.
Born in Chicago, Prevost spent the early part of his career there working for the Augustinians. He served in Peru from 1985 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1998 as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher and administrator. He was made a cardinal in 2023.
Robert Prevost was born in Chicago on September 14, 1955. He completed his secondary studies at the minor seminary of the Order of St. Augustine in 1973. Prevost earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics at Villanova University in 1977. [1]
Deciding to become a priest, Provost joined the Order of St. Augustine in September 1977. He took his first vows to the order in September 1978 and his solemn vows in August 1981. [2] The following year, he was awarded a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. [3]
Prevost was ordained a priest by Archbishop Jean Jadot for the Augustinians in Rome on June 19, 1982. [4] He earned a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1984 and a Doctor of Canon Law degree in 1987 from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. [1] [5]
Prevost joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and served as chancellor of the Territorial Prélature of Chulucanas from 1985 to 1986. [6] He spent 1987 working as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago.
Provost in 1988 returned to Peru, spending the next ten years heading the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo. He also taught canon law in the diocesan seminary and served as prefect of studies. Provost served as judge of the regional ecclesiastical court and a member of the college of consultors of Trujillo.He also led a congregation on the outskirts of the city. [7]
In 1998, Prevost was elected provincial of the Augustinian Province of Chicago and returned to the United States to assume that position on March 8, 1999. [6]
In 2000, Prevost allowed Father James Ray, an Augustinian priest, to resided at St. John Stone Friary in Chicago. Ray had been suspended from public ministry since 1991 due to credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. Although the priory was close to a Catholic elementary school, Prevost did not notify the school administration about Ray. The Augustinians noted that Ray was assigned a monitor while at St. John Stone. Ray was moved to a different residence in 2002 when the US Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted stricter rules for handling priests accused of abusing minors. [8] [9] [a]
In 2001, Prevost was elected to a six-year term as prior general of the Augustinians. He was elected to a second six-year term in 2007. From 2013 to 2014, Prevost served as director of formation in the Convent of St. Augustine in Chicago, as well as first councilor and provincial vicar of the province of Our Mother of Good Counsel, which covers the midwestern United States. [7]
On November 3, 2014, Pope Francis appointed Prevost as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo and titular bishop of Sufar. [7] He received his episcopal consecration on December 12, 2014, at St. Mary's Cathedral in Chiclayo. [10] On September 26, 2015, he was named bishop of Chiclayo. [1]
On July 13, 2019, Prevost was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome. [11] On April 15, 2020, he was named apostolic administrator of Callao in Peru. [12] On November 21, 2020, Francis named him a member of the Congregation for Bishops. [13]
Within the Episcopal Conference of Peru, Prevost served on the permanent council for the 2018 to 2020 term. [14] He was elected in 2019 as president of its Commission for Education and Culture. He was also a member of the leadership of Caritas Peru. Prevost had a private audience with Francis on March 1, 2021, [15] fueling speculation of a new assignment either in Chicago or Rome. [16]
On January 30, 2023, Francis appointed Provost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishop s with the title archbishop-bishop emeritus of Chiclayo. [17] On July 9, 2023, Francis announced plans to make Provost a cardinal at a consistory on September 30th. [18] [19] At that consistory, he was made cardinal-deacon of Santa Monica degli Agostiniani Church in Rome. [20]
On February 6, 2025 Francis promoted Provost to cardinal-bishop, assigning him to the Suburbicarian Diocese of Albano in the Province of Rome. [21] [22]