New Delhi, May 17 -- When white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel on 8 May, few outside ecclesiastical circles recognized the name Robert Francis Prevost. However joy erupted in Trujillo, Chiclayo, and among the dusty Andean towns of northern Peru. The man now known as Pope Leo XIV had walked their streets, celebrated Mass in their parks, comforted their sick, and built their churches - sometimes literally with his own hands.
Born in Chicago and ordained as an Augustinian priest, Robert Prevost's life took a decisive turn in 1985 when he arrived in Peru at the age of 30. This was no brief missionary tour. Over the next four decades, Peru would shape his theology, pastoral style, and spiritual vision. In the words of Leo XIV himself, "I wa...