A 'BOB' at the head of the Vatican!

On May 8, 2025, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th Pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.

And since the reality of recent developments in the world had many surprises in store, this time it could not be any different. For the first time in the history of the Vatican, an American comes to the helm of the papacy.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Robert Prevost joined the Order of Saint Augustine in his early youth and was ordained a priest in 1982. His ministry has included extensive missionary work in Peru from 1985 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1998, where he served in various capacities as a teacher, parish administrator, and pastor.

Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013, he later returned to Peru as bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and named R. Prevost, cardinal in the same year.

Beyond the collapse of border barriers, a globalized world, or the declining trend of respecting the principles of tradition and history, what does this fact really mean?

Should we see the role of the new Pope as a single individual in this geopolitical space, or can we also attribute it to the prejudice of representing in the papacy a world superpower, which is seeking to extend its political and economic influence to religion as well?

While many of us thought that the influence of religion today seemed to have declined and the individual had almost distanced himself from his relationship with God, recent events showed the opposite.

Faith is there, in its own innovative and unique way, but now with a so-called 'soft' force in conveying morality, values, and other diplomatic assets. After four rounds and over two days, the white smoke, the symbol of the papal vote, announced to the whole world the election of the new pope.

A choice that is both unexpected and logical. Knowing that the Vatican has always been oriented towards Europe or even Latin America, this time it is symbolically thought that the election of an American at the head of the Vatican showed not only a movement from the historical axis but also unity or even an absolute agreement.

It is worth noting that the Vatican lobby, despite its small size, remains powerful and influential in the policies of world leaders, giving a different trajectory to the post-war scene. If its power was then direct and tangible, now it becomes quieter and more operational.

Although the last Pope, Bergoglio, had a more modern and visionary approach to religion and God in moral values ??and faith compared to Pope Leo XIV, who has been labeled as more conservative, in his last speech, Prevost clearly stated that he would maintain the same principles of the late Pope Francis, but always firmly adhering to the doctrine of the Catholic Church without leaving much room for debate.

He is seen as someone who values ??internal order and hierarchy, making him less tolerant of theological ambiguity and chaos that has long plagued the Church. In one way or another, we saw that these were also key points of the slogans that brought President Trump to power.

While the world was heading towards an unbalanced opening amidst unmanageable turmoil, getting out of its historical axis, Trump won by loudly waving the slogan of preserving family values ??and stopping human experiments as if they were coffee with new but dangerous doctrines.

It seems that this time religious power has coincided "as if by chance" with political power, not only because of the origin of the actors on the great world stage, but also because of the game they had to play.

And precisely the superpower that more than ever experienced quite a bit of turmoil in recent years in its history, with this new election demonstrated that it knew how to rise again. Just as Caesar in the Roman Empire, significantly influenced religion, history has the destiny to repeat itself. The drives do not have to change their prophetic course.

At its core, however, lies man's faith in God, unity, and humanity conveyed directly and empathetically by the Church itself.

The response to the turmoil of the last decade, the power struggles, the anxiety about the future, and the loss of innocent lives could not be better blessed than the first words of the new Pope's inauguration on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica – Peace be with you!