Pope Leo XIV: A biographical timeline
May 9, 2025 at 2:03 p.m.
OSV News – The following are key dates in the life and ministry of Pope Leo XIV, elected May 8, 2025, as the 266th successor to St. Peter.
– 1955: Born Sept. 14 in the Chicago area.
– 1977: Graduated from Villanova University near Philadelphia and entered the novitiate for the Order of St. Augustine in St. Louis.
– 1978: Professed first vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine.
– 1981: Professed solemn vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine.
– 1982: Ordained a priest of the Order of St. Augustine.
– 1984: Earned a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.
– 1985: Sent to work in the mission of Chulucanas, in Piura, Peru, until 1986.
– 1987: Elected the vocations director and missions director for his order's Midwest province, Our Mother of Good Counsel.
– 1988: Moved to Trujillo, Peru, to direct a joint formation project for the region's Augustinian aspirants. Over the course of a decade in Trujillo, he served as the community's prior (1988-1992), formation director (1988-1998) and as an instructor (1992-1998).
– 1989: Began serving the Archdiocese of Trujillo for nine years as its judicial vicar; was also a professor of canon, patristic and moral law in the San Carlos e San Marcelo Major Seminary.
– 1999: Elected prior provincial for the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Chicago.
– 2001: Promoted to his order's prior general, considered its supreme authority that oversees its administration and governance. He was reelected to that role in 2007, holding it for a total of 12 years until 2013.
– 2013: Served for a year as a "teacher of the professed" and provincial vicar.
– 2014: Appointed by Pope Francis to be apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru. He was simultaneously named a bishop, but of the titular diocese Sufar, under which title he was ordained a month later on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
– 2015: Appointed bishop of Chiclayo on Sept. 26.
– 2018: Served as second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference until 2023.
– 2019: Appointed a member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy.
– 2020: While still bishop of Chiclayo, appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao, Peru, a role he held until May 2021. He was also appointed to the Congregation for Bishops.
– 2023: Appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, named president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and granted the title archbishop Jan. 30; installed in those roles April 12. On Sept. 30, elevated to the College of Cardinals.
– 2025: Elected Pope May 8, taking the name Leo XIV.
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OSV News – The following are key dates in the life and ministry of Pope Leo XIV, elected May 8, 2025, as the 266th successor to St. Peter.
– 1955: Born Sept. 14 in the Chicago area.
– 1977: Graduated from Villanova University near Philadelphia and entered the novitiate for the Order of St. Augustine in St. Louis.
– 1978: Professed first vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine.
– 1981: Professed solemn vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine.
– 1982: Ordained a priest of the Order of St. Augustine.
– 1984: Earned a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.
– 1985: Sent to work in the mission of Chulucanas, in Piura, Peru, until 1986.
– 1987: Elected the vocations director and missions director for his order's Midwest province, Our Mother of Good Counsel.
– 1988: Moved to Trujillo, Peru, to direct a joint formation project for the region's Augustinian aspirants. Over the course of a decade in Trujillo, he served as the community's prior (1988-1992), formation director (1988-1998) and as an instructor (1992-1998).
– 1989: Began serving the Archdiocese of Trujillo for nine years as its judicial vicar; was also a professor of canon, patristic and moral law in the San Carlos e San Marcelo Major Seminary.
– 1999: Elected prior provincial for the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Chicago.
– 2001: Promoted to his order's prior general, considered its supreme authority that oversees its administration and governance. He was reelected to that role in 2007, holding it for a total of 12 years until 2013.
– 2013: Served for a year as a "teacher of the professed" and provincial vicar.
– 2014: Appointed by Pope Francis to be apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru. He was simultaneously named a bishop, but of the titular diocese Sufar, under which title he was ordained a month later on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
– 2015: Appointed bishop of Chiclayo on Sept. 26.
– 2018: Served as second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference until 2023.
– 2019: Appointed a member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy.
– 2020: While still bishop of Chiclayo, appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao, Peru, a role he held until May 2021. He was also appointed to the Congregation for Bishops.
– 2023: Appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, named president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and granted the title archbishop Jan. 30; installed in those roles April 12. On Sept. 30, elevated to the College of Cardinals.
– 2025: Elected Pope May 8, taking the name Leo XIV.
The Church needs quality Catholic journalism now more than ever. Please consider supporting this work by signing up for a SUBSCRIPTION (click HERE) or making a DONATION to The Monitor (click HERE). Thank you for your support.