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> Pope Leo XIV
> born chicago 1955
> nobody special. just a catholic kid from the suburbs
> played “mass” with his brothers at home as a kid
> studied math at uni. not even theology. math
> graduated then walked straight into a monastery same year
> ordained priest at 26
> rome called him
> flew over. got a full doctorate in canon law
> could’ve stayed in rome living comfortable
> went to peru instead
> first mission: chulucanas. semi-arid desert at the foot of the andes
> spent his first year doing disaster relief after el niño floods hit the regio
> went back to chicago briefly to finish his thesis
> then went straight back to peru
> settled in trujillo. stayed there for nearly a decade
> this was during peru’s civil war
> witnessed car bombs & military crackdowns (he stayed)
> learned spanish. founded a parish. trained future priests
> travelled by horse on difficult roads to reach isolated communities in the mountain valleys
> spoke out publicly against fujimori’s government (when other bishops stayed quiet)
> went back to chicago in 1999
> won election as head of the augustinian province on reputation alone
> 2001: elected to lead the entire worldwide augustinian order
> ran it for 12 years. based in rome. travelled every continent
> never gave interviews. never chased headlines
> 2023: francis called him to rome
> made him the man who decides who becomes a bishop anywhere on earth
> made cardinal september 2023 > two years later, francis died
> second day of the conclave. fourth ballot
> walked out onto the balcony of st peter’s basilica
> spoke for 10 minutes in flawless italian
> speaks 5 languages. holds 2 passports
> first american pope in 2,000 years of church history
> first augustinian pope ever
> two years earlier he was one of 5,400 bishops with zero global visibility
Every vatican insider said an american pope was impossible…
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canisgallicus 