On Thursday, the Costa Rican government extended its formal congratulations to Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, age 69, of Chicago, Illinois, following his election as the new Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church.

The conclave of cardinals concluded on May 8, 2025, in Vatican City with Prevost's historic selection.

“We extend our warmest congratulations to Pope Leo XIV and express our commitment to cooperation and support in his efforts to promote peace, understanding, and solidarity among peoples,” Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in an official release.

The ministry emphasized Costa Rica’s intention to continue working closely with the Vatican on shared priorities, particularly in the areas of social justice, human rights, and support for vulnerable communities.

“We express our best wishes for health, wisdom, and strength to Pope Leo XIV, so that his pontificate may be a time of peace and hope for all,” the statement added.

Father Glen de Jesús Arauz Sánchez, rector of the Saint Augustine Seminary in San José, also joined in the congratulations. He noted that Pope Leo XIV had previously visited Costa Rica in January 2012 in his capacity as General of the Order of Saint Augustine.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the new pope. “Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

According to Vatican sources, Pope Leo XIV became the first Augustinian Pope and only the second Pontiff from the Americas, after Pope Francis. “Robert Francis Prevost is from the northern part of the continent, though he spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being elected head of the Augustinians for two consecutive terms,” the Vatican said.

Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Pope Leo XIV is the son of Louis Marius Prevost, of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martínez, of Spanish descent. He has two brothers, Louis Martin and John Joseph.

Prevost studied at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers and later at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he earned a degree in mathematics and also studied philosophy. He entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and took his first vows the following year. His solemn vows were made in 1981.

He earned a degree in theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and was later sent to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum). He was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982, at the College of Saint Monica by Archbishop Jean Jadot, then head of what is now the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.

Prevost completed his licentiate in Canon Law in 1984 and defended his doctoral thesis in 1987, titled “The Role of the Local Prior in the Order of Saint Augustine.”


Between 1985 and 1986, he served in the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, Piura, Peru, before taking on various leadership roles in Illinois and returning to Peru in 1988 to lead a formation project for Augustinian candidates in Trujillo.

In 2013, he returned to the U.S. to serve as director of formation, first councilor, and provincial vicar in the Chicago province. On November 3, 2014, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, and elevated him to the rank of Titular Bishop of Sufar.

His episcopal motto, “In Illo uno unum,” comes from Saint Augustine’s sermon on Psalm 127, emphasizing Christian unity through Christ: “Although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.”