Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the first US-born pontiff Thursday and will be known as Pope Leo XIV.

The 69-year-old from Chicago stepped into his role as the 267th pope on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday evening, addressing thousands of cheering Catholics with the words: “Peace be with you all.”

Here’s a look at Pope Leo before his papacy:

Then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost celebrated Mass at St. Jude Parish in New Lenox, Illinois, in 2024.

Courtesy of the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel

Then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost celebrated Mass at St. Jude Parish in New Lenox, Illinois, in 2024.

Courtesy of the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel

Then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost during an event at St. Jude Parish in New Lenox, Illinois, in 2004.

Courtesy of the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel

Robert Francis Prevost posing for a picture.

Courtesy of the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel

In this undated picture Robert Francis Prevost greets Pope John Paul II.

Courtesy of the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel

Rev. John Lydon talks with CNN’s Whitney Wild during a tour of the Augustinian Formation House at CTU, where Pope Leo lived and worked before he was named a bishop in Peru.

CNN

Father Mark Francis — a friend who attended the same seminary as Pope Leo XIV in the 1970s — said the pontiff’s roots in the Midwest played a large role in shaping him as a religious leader.

Francis, who’s now Provincial of the Viatorians in the US, describes Pope Leo as serious, focused, and dependable, with a good sense of humor.

Francis, who grew up in the Chicago area as well, characterized the Chicago church as “forward-looking,” with a strong desire for women to be more involved in the church. “I think that is a hallmark of my ministry, and I also believe of Pope Leo’s ministry as well: a respect for women and a respect for their voice.”

Rev. John Lydon and the new pope were undergrads together at Villanova then crossed paths again in Peru.

Peggy Wurtz, who grew up in Dolton, Illinois, and went to Catholic school with Pope Leo, said his family was always pious. “He was super smart and super quiet. There isn’t a bad thing you can say about him. He is pure, pure, this guy was destined to be pope,” she said in a phone interview.