Our Church

Jesus Christ: The Way, the Truth and the Life

The Catholic Church is “the Church established by Jesus Christ on the foundation of the Apostles, possessing the fullness of the means of salvation which He has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession”. (Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 830). The head of the Catholic Church is Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (cf. Gospel of St John 14:6).

Way

The presence of Christ in human history now continues through the Catholic Church.

Jesus Christ is the Way: The Catholic Church proposes that humanity’s perennial search for God has been more than surpassed by God’s search for humanity. This divine revelation has unfolded through space and time as can be witnessed in the harmony of creation, the Old Covenant with the Jewish people and, ultimately, in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God made man, the Eternal Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God …and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Gospel of St John 1:1,14). The presence of Christ in human history now continues through the Catholic Church which celebrates his sacraments, exercises his works of mercy, proclaims his Gospel and teaches in his name.

Truth

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples…”

Jesus Christ is the Truth: The Catholic Church proposes that truth is both objective and knowable. This includes the truth of human nature, what makes us happy and what makes us unhappy. These truths are discernible through human reason but are also revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free,” (Gospel of St John 8:31-32). Christ’s teaching authority on matters of faith and morals is now entrusted to the Catholic Church. It is this divine mandate which ensures the Church is consistent in her teaching from one generation to the next, regardless of the passing cultural fashions of each age.

Life

Jesus Christ is the Life: The Catholic Church proposes that in encountering Jesus Christ we discover our greatest happiness, deepest peace and ultimate purpose in life. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly,” (Gospel of St John 10:10.) This divine relationship of love is sustained by a life of prayer, penance, and sacrifice. It is further enhanced by faithfulness to the teachings of the Church and the frequent reception of the sacraments, especially Holy Communion and Confession. It is this which brings us unshakeable joy in this life and eternal beatitude in the next.

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Pope Leo XIV

Robert Francis Prevost was born on 14 September 1955 in Chicago.

In 1977 he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.) in the province of Our Lady of Good Counsel, in Saint Louis. On 29 August 1981 he gave his solemn vows. He studied at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago, receiving a diploma in theology. At the age of 27 he was sent by the Order to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University (Angelicum). He received priestly ordination on 19 June 1982. He received his licentiate in 1984, and was then sent to work in the mission of Chulucanas, in Piura, Peru (1985-1986).

In 1988 he was sent to the mission of Trujillo as director of the joint formation project for Augustinian aspirants in the Vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos and Apurímac. There he served as community prior (1988-1992), director of formation (1988-1998) and teacher of the professed (1992-1998). In the archdiocese of Trujillo he was judicial vicar (1989-1998), and professor of canon, patristic and moral law in the “San Carlos e San Marcelo” Major Seminary.

In 1999 he was elected provincial prior of the “Mother of Good Counsel” province, Chicago. After two and a half years, the ordinary general Chapter elected him prior general, a ministry again entrusted to him in the 2007 ordinary general Chapter. In October 2013 he returned to his province (Chicago) to serve as teacher of the professed and provincial vicar, roles he held 3 November 2014, when Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, elevating him to the dignity of bishop and assigning him the titular diocese of Sufar. On 7 November he took canonical possession of the diocese in the presence of the apostolic nuncio James Patrick Green; he was ordained a bishop on 12 December, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the cathedral of his diocese. He served as bishop of Chiclayo from 26 November 2015. In March 2018 he became second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference. Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Congregation for the Clergy in 2019, and member of the Congregation for Bishops in 2020.

On 15 April 2020, the Pope appointed him apostolic administrator of the diocese of Callao. On 30 January 2023 Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Prevost as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and presidet of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the Consistory of 30 September 2023, of the Deaconry of Santa Monica. Following the death of Pope Francis on 21 April 2025, Cardinal Prevost was elected Supreme Pontiff on 8 May 2025 taking the name Pope Leo XIV and became the first American-born Pope.