VII. Personal Observations: Holiness Over Time The world we live in is impatient. Political leaders are judged by the “first 100 days.” Pundits look for immediate signals, critics demand instant proof. But the Church is not built on soundbites or quarterly reports. Holiness does not unfold on a stopwatch. It matures over time, through trials,…
The Name of Leo: Continuity and His First Words When Robert Prevost stepped onto the loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica on May 8, 2025, the announcement of his chosen name startled and delighted the faithful. Leo the Fourteenth. By selecting Leo, he placed himself in continuity with some of the Church’s most towering figures. Papal names are never…
Notable Lived Experiences (Peru) (lived response pastoral ministry) Peru was more than a mission field for Robert Prevost. It was a crucible where spiritual reality, beauty, danger, and the miraculous all pressed upon a man formed to be a shepherd. As friends on this journey, we can walk through three moments from his Peruvian life—some…
Religious Life in Upheaval The world into which Pope Leo XIV was being formed was not one of calm certainty. After the Second Vatican Council the Church saw waves of change—many welcomed, others deeply disorienting. The years of his formation were marked by dramatic tension: religious orders struggling with declining vocations, formation houses beset by…
III. Religious Order (The ideal) When Robert Prevost entered the Order of Saint Augustine in the late 1970s, he stepped into a centuries-old tradition that shaped both his mind and heart. The Augustinian charism is not only about cloistered life but also about seeking God together, in community, through study, prayer, and service. ¹ For Prevost, the…
II. Education & Dissertation Before Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, his mind was already deeply immersed in questions of authority, obedience, and how religious life should be structured in service to truth. His education and the doctoral work he completed offered early hints of what his pontificate might hold. After finishing his undergraduate…