Expert analysis from a veteran Vatican watcher on who the new American Pope few expected really is - and what his legacy within the Catholic Church might become.

When Robert Francis Prevost OSA appeared on the loggia of St. Peter's on 8th May 2025, he surprised the world.

The first American pope is a quiet man few had heard of, following the legacy of one the most media savvy pontiffs in history. Yet with subtle gestures, Pope Leo has shown that, while he is in continuity with Francis, he is also a bridge-builder, a man willing to unite the factions in a deeply divided Church.

In this comprehensive book which joins biography with critical examination of the state of the Church, veteran journalist Christopher R. Altieri explores Prevost's life and work, from his early years in Chicago to his ministry in Peru, and how he came to be chosen as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Altieri provides insight into the politics of the 2025 conclave, alongside Pope Leo's choice of papal name, and the major challenges and deep-rooted problems of the Church that he now must run; a church that is barely solvent, a Vatican rife with corruption and mismanagement, financial scandal and a lack of judicial transparency – and all at a time when the world is asking big questions about what it means to be human in a complex ethical world of AI and global conflict.

Through this Pope Leo emerges as a quiet man of true humility, with a track record as an efficient administrator and conciliatory figure, whose background in Canon Law might just offer him the skills needed to govern and reshape the modern Church.