American Cardinal Robert Prevost He arrived in Peru for the first time as a young missionary Augustine And, from the Andean country, he left as a bishop for the Vatican to be a central figure in the government of Pope Francis.
Premost, 69, now appears among the favorites to become the first American pontiff … and Peruvian because in 2015 he obtained nationality.
Of the Purpurados North American, He is the one with the greatest probabilities for his pastoral inclination global perspective and ability to govern the Vatican curia, according to experts.
His reputation of Moderate and bridge builderS could also be crucial at a time when the Church appears very divided.
Prevost has spent a third of his life in the United States. The rest between Europe and Latin Americaone of the peripheries of the world where the Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio was also.
The Italian newspaper The Republic He called him “the least American of Americans” for the moderation of his words.
The idea of an American Pope was for centuries discarded in Rome, whether they were from the distance-they were so far that they were normally late to the conclaves-or by geopolitical decisions.
According to the specialized site Crux, having a pontiff of the first world power He also fear that the CIA could put his hands in the church.
Archbishop Emeritus from Chiclayo, about 750 km north of LimaPrevost left Peru to join the Vatican Government, where he directed the important dicastery for the bishops, which has the important function of advising the Pope on the appointments of the church’s hierarchs.
After Francisco’s death, Prevost said there was still “much to do” in the transformation of the Church.
“We can’t stop, we can’t go back. We have to see how the Holy Spirit wants the Church to be today and tomorrow, because today’s world, in which the Church lives, is not the same as the world of 10 or 20 years ago, “Vatican News told Vatican.
“The message is always the same: proclaim to Jesus Christ, proclaim the gospel, but the way to reach today’s people, young people, the poor, politicians, is different,” he added.
He was one of the cardinals closest to Francisco, whose pontificate generated resistances within the most conservative sectors.
But at the same time, its solid training in canon law reassures in these circles that seek a more focused approach to theology.
Prevost was born on September 14, 1955 in Chicago and attended a minor seminar of the order of San Agustín in San Luis as a novice before graduating in mathematics in Philadelphia. Polyglota, studied canon law in Rome, where he also obtained a doctorate.
He joined the Augustinians in Peru in 1985 For the first of its missions in the Andean country.
Upon returning to Chicago in 1999, he was appointed prior provincial of the Augustinians in that American region and subsequently general prior of the order worldwide.
He returned to Peru in 2014 when Francisco appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo.
Almost a decade later, He entered the curia replacing the Canadian cardinal Marc Ouelletwho was accused of sexually assaulting a woman and resigned for age reasons.
Then, the late Pontiff also appointed him president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.