Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost who is the new and 267th Bishop of Rome has already visited Tanzania and Kenya several times in the past, during the time when he was cardinal.
Records show that Pope Leo XIV had previously landed in Tanzania more than five times, while again in early 2025 the new Pontiff also paid a visit to Kenya.
Pope Leo XIV was in Kenya earlier this year as a Cardinal and visited, among other places the Baba Dogo Parish and The Augustinian community.
Cardinal Prevost was declared to be the new pope in the Vatican on the 8th day of May 2025 as announced to the waiting crowds by Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti.
For most residents of Africa, the Chicago Born Prevost is likely to be more open and may even emulate his predecessor’s efforts to connect with the continent, something which he has already shown during his time as cardinal.
His predecessor, Pope Francis, had visited Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic in 2015.
In 2019, he also visited Madagascar, Mauritius and Mozambique.
In Africa, people have always believed that the non-italian popes (Or at least those that don’t come from Europe) are more accommodating. The fact that Pope Leo XIV comes from the United States, makes him even more approachable
The first Augustinian Pope, Robert Prevost – now Leo XIV – is the second Roman Pontiff from the Americas after Pope Francis.
The 69-year-old Robert Francis Prevost is from the northern part of the American continent, though he spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being elected head of the Augustinians for two consecutive terms.
After John Paul II broke the Italian hold on the papacy in 1978, the field has broadened considerably, such that cardinals from far-flung countries are now seen as contenders.
The past three popes have hailed from Poland (John Paul II), Germany (Benedict XVI) and Argentina (Francis).
The new Bishop of Rome was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, to Louis Marius Prevost, of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martínez, of Spanish descent. He has two brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph.
Leo spent his childhood and adolescence with his family and studied first at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers and then at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where in 1977 he earned a Degree in Mathematics and also studied Philosophy.
His extensive experience in Latin America, including his role as Bishop of Chiclayo and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, resonates deeply with Costa Rica and the broader region, home to nearly 40 percent of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.