He will be seen as a figure who favoured the continuity of Francis’ reforms in the Catholic Church.
Prevost is believed to have shared Francis’ views on migrants, the poor and the environment.
As cardinal, he has not shied away from challenging the views of US Vice-President JD Vance.
He reposted a post on social media platform X which was critical of the Trump administration’s deportation of a US resident to El Salvador, and shared a critical comment piece written about a TV interview given by Vance to Fox News.
“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” read the post, repeating the headline from the commentary on the National Catholic Reporter website.
Although he is an American, and will be fully aware of the divisions within the Catholic Church, his Latin American background also represents continuity after a Pope who came from Argentina.
The Vatican described him as the second pope from the Americas, after Pope Francis, as well as the the first Augustinian pope.
During his time in Peru he has not escaped the sexual abuse scandals that have clouded the Church, however his diocese fervently denied he had been involved in any attempted cover-up.
Before the conclave, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that during gatherings of the College of Cardinals in the days before the conclave they emphasised the need for a pope with “a prophetic spirit capable of leading a Church that does not close in on itself but knows how to go out and bring light to a world marked by despair”.
