Prevost, 69, was considered a contender for the papacy but was largely overlooked by many bettors and experts in favor of other cardinals, including Pietro Parolin and Luis Antonio Tagle.

Former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States was selected Thursday by the papal conclave to succeed Pope Francis and lead the Roman Catholic Church. The new pontiff, who has taken the name Leo XIV,

The Catholic Church has entered a new historic era with the election of American-Peruvian Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th Supreme Pontiff, who adopted the name Leo XIV, but what has his life and career been like?