Rosa’s Reviews > LEO XIV - Robert Francis Prevost - The Life of the Man behind the Pope: The Most Insightful Biography of Pope Leo XIV—A Story of Faith, Humility, and Global Change > Status Update

He is a pontiff of multiple peripheries: born in Chicago, formed in Peru, elected in Rome.

The rise of a North American pontiff—an occurrence that was for decades considered diplomatically problematic, even taboo—represents a deep recalibration of the Church’s relationship with Western power itself.

“The next pope,” he said, “must know how to guard the deposit of faith—but with the tenderness of a confessor, not the sternness of a judge.”

Robert’s contribution helped shape the synod’s emphasis on integral ecology, indigenous rights, and inculturated evangelization.

Instead, he bowed his head, made the sign of the cross, and greeted the world with a voice that was calm, measured, and deeply human. In that moment, Pope Leo XIV began his pontificate—not with spectacle, but with sincerity.