The internet loses its mind over Pope Leo' degree

Pope Leo has officially been Pope for almost a week. The 69-year-old, who became the first American ever to be raised to the office, has already made his mark on his papacy, continuing the work of the late Pope Francis in questing for peace.

But while Leo has dedicated his life to the Catholic Church, he has another academic background. Simply put, the internet has lost its mind over the degree he holds.

In early May, Robert Prevost made history as the first American to hold the papacy. He took the name Leo XIV, meaning 13 popes had the same name before him. Speaking to CBS, Dennis Doyle, a theologian and professor emeritus of religious studies at the University of Dayton, explained that a pope’s name indicates “a certain spirit and direction and vision of the new pope.”

“The first thing that you would look for would be, which popes had that name before?” he said. “That would signify something about the direction that the pope wants to take.”

When appearing on the balcony, Leo XIV held a ceremonial speech to Catholics worldwide, beginning with the words: “Peace be with you.”

He continued: “Dearest brothers and sisters, this was the first greeting of the risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for the flock of God. I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are; and all the peoples, and all the earth: Peace be with you.”

“This is the peace of the Risen Christ, a disarming and humble and preserving peace. It comes from God. God, who loves all of us, without any limits or conditions. Let us keep in our ears the weak but always brave voice of Pope Francis, who blessed Rome – the Pope who blessed Rome and the world that day on the morning of Easter.”

Pope Leo also thanked his “cardinal brothers” for choosing him as Pope. He sent a special greeting to the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as Bishop between 2014 and 2023.

“To all the faithful here present, and to all those who receive his blessing through the radio, through television, and other technologies of communication. You can recognise him in the way recognised by the church,” the Pope concluded.

“Let us hope that he’s preserved for a long time and ensure peace to the church throughout the world.”

Every Pope has their own way of approaching the papacy. Within the Catholic church, there are different opinions on which direction the church should take. Some argue it should be progressive and implement new reforms as society evolves, while others believe it should take a more conservative angle. Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, wanted to modernize the Catholic Church, and in some ways, Leo is continuing his work.

He wants to embrace the poor and the marginalized, and just like Francis, Leo is also vocal regarding the threat of climate change.

As recently as November 2024, Pope Leo spoke about global warming at a Rome seminar dedicated to “addressing the problems of the environmental crisis,” ABC reported.

The then-cardinal said it was time to move “from words to action.” Moreover, Leo has also praised the Vatican for wanting to reduce its carbon footprint by switching to electric vehicles and solar panels.

It’s not only peace and climate change that put Francis and Leo in the same box of wanting to modernize the Catholic church. He also supported Francis in blessing same-sex couples and other people in “irregular situations.” However, he also believed that bishops had to interpret it in directives according to local cultures.

Pope Francis was also a supporter of women joining the Dicastery for Bishops. In 2023, he told Vatican News that on several occasions, he had seen women’s “point of view as an enrichment.”

Before becoming Pope, Leo’s most high-profile role inside the Vatican was President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, overseeing the selection of new bishops worldwide.

It’s not easy to stay updated on who and where the cardinals come from. So, what is Pope Leo’s background? While it’s been talked about for a week, one thing from his past has made the internet go bananas: his scholarly background.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 14, 1955, Prevost grew up in the suburb of Dalton. Although not much is known about his childhood, in an interview with NBC Chicago, the Pope’s brother, John, said it was “normal.” It appears Pope Leo XIV had his life planned out from a very early age.

“I think he knew it by first grade that he was going to be a priest. And there was no question in anyone’s mind. I think the question that our parents had was, would you be a diocesan priest and work at a parish, or would you be an order priest? Which he chose, Augustinian,” John Prevost, the Pope’s brother, said.

Pope Leo decided to leave his normal childhood behind and left for an Augustinian Seminary.

“He went right from high school seminary, then Augustinian College at Villanova, and then the year of theology. So he wasn’t home a lot, except for summer vacations,” the Pope’s brother continued, adding that despite being the youngest, Leo usually gave them advice. “It’s usually the other way around; he gives the advice to us.”

In an interview with the Italian network Rai before his election, Pope Leo XIV explained that he grew up in an immigrant family.

“I was born in the United States… But my grandparents were all immigrants, French, Spanish… I was raised in a very Catholic family, both of my parents were very engaged in the parish,” he said.

Prevost holds American and Peruvian citizenship, which will affect his career within the church. He gave his vows in 1981 and studied in Rome. After that, he was sent on a mission to Peru and stayed there for many years. In 2014, he was appointed Bishop of Ciclayo in Peru.

As per The Guardian, Rev Fidel Purisaca Vigil, the communications director for Prevost’s old diocese in Chiclayo, Pope Leo XIV was a calm and grounded leader. He always sat down with fellow priests after morning prayer to eat breakfast.

“No matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humour and joy,” Rev Fidel Purisaca Vigil told the Associated Press.

Another person who spoke about Leo is his former roommate, Reverend John Lyndon. He lived with the Pope for a decade in Peru and told the BBC that he was an “outstanding” and “down-to-earth” person who loved singing and cooking.

“Sometimes he would make pizza, back in those days you couldn’t get good pizza in Peru,” Rev Lyndon told the BBC. “He was somebody you would sit down with and just talk and laugh,” he adds. “He had a very good singing voice as well.”

He continued: “We always had to block out a week for his birthday, which is in December, because every part of the parish wanted to celebrate his birthday,” he concluded, “It’s an amazing thing. I’m still absorbing it.”

Although Pope Leo dedicated his life to the Catholic church, he also had a history of being a student. He is said to speak five languages and was an academically gifted student at Villanova University, an Augustinian institution in Pennsylvania. But while it’s easy to imagine he studied theology or something that is at least close to his life’s calling, that is not the case at all.

In 1977, Pope Leo graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He also studied philosophy, but the fact that he graduated with a degree in mathematics left social media in utter disbelief. Per the Daily Mail, social media platform X has been flooded with comments about the Pope’s academic qualifications.

“The Pope being a math major means that he not only believes that Jesus multiplied bread and fish – he understands exactly how he did it,” one user wrote on X, per the Daily Mail.

Another wrote, “Math major possible career paths: quant, programmer, grad student… pope,” while a third added, “The new Pope is from Chicago and has a math degree, which goes to show you can still make a success of your life even if you don’t pass the first-round interview at Jump.”

A fourth person commented, “Just found out the new pope studied math at undergrad in case you’re wondering how tough the job market is for technical roles right now,” and a fifth simply asked, “HE’S A MATH MAJOR???”

Much like his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo advocated for peace in his first act as Pope. At the time of writing, he is focusing his attention on the war in Ukraine, as well as the conflict in Gaza and Israel.

On Sunday, Leo urged everyone to seek peace from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

“I would also like to address the powerful people of the world,” Leo said. “No more war. The immense tragedy of the Second World War ended 80 years ago…now we’re facing the tragedy of a third world war in pieces.”

Pope Leo continued: “I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people. May whatever is possible be done to reach an authentic, true and lasting peace as quickly as possible. May all the prisoners be freed. May children return to their families.”

“And I am deeply hurt by what is happening in the Gaza Strip,” the Pope said. “May a ceasefire immediately come into effect. May humanitarian aid be allowed into the civilian population and may all hostages be freed.”

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