Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Villanova University graduate, has been chosen as the next leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics and will succeed Pope Francis. Prevost chose Leo XIV as his papal name, and he is the first American pope. Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955, Pope Leo XIV graduated from Villanova with a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1977. The pope is a member of the Augustinian religious order and was elected the top leader of the order twice. In an article about Prevost's selection as a cardinal, the former head of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, referred to him as "our brother Bob." After Villanova, he studied at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago and was ordained as a priest in 1982. #pope #conclave #popelected #sistinechapel #vatican #vaticancity #stfrancis #newpope #villanova #villanovauniversity #nova #villanovagrad #pennsylvania #popeleo #robertprevost