WEST MICHIGAN — Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost, once attended and graduated from minor seminary school in West Michigan, the Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo confirmed to FOX17.
He graduated in 1973 from St. Augustine Seminary and returned in 2013 for a high school reunion, according to Elizabeth McEwen, executive director of Felt Estate. The Felt Estate is a historic mansion that once housed the St. Augustine Catholic Seminary.
Pope Leo XIV, 69, was elected on Thursday on the second day of the conclave, replacing Pope Francis.
Prior to becoming pope, Leo XIV was declared a cardinal under Pope Francis and was tasked to be the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.
He joined the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and took his solemn vows in 1981. After studying in Rome, he spent many years in Peru as a missionary and later served as regional superior of the Augustinian order there.
National News
Who is Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, the first American pope?
He has extensive experience in Peru, first as a missionary and then an archbishop. He was prefect of the Vatican’s powerful dicastery for bishops, in charge of vetting nominations for bishops around the world.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Villanova University, a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union, and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
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