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Pope Leo XIV has been on the Chair of Peter for less than a year, but the first biography of the American pontiff is already making waves — and now it is available for English-speaking readers.
Written by Rome correspondent Elise Ann Allen, the book is the only full-length biography of Leo XIV published to date. After circulating for months in Spanish, it is now open for pre-order in English, offering an early, in-depth look at a pope whose election surprised even seasoned Vatican observers.
On May 8, 2025, the world watched as white smoke curled above the Sistine Chapel. When Cardinal Robert Prevost stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as Leo XIV, he became the first US pope in history — a former Augustinian superior and missionary bishop in Peru who had quietly built a reputation for pastoral steadiness and global perspective.
Allen’s biography arrives at a moment of heightened curiosity. Who is this Chicago-born religious who spent years serving in Latin America? What shaped his spirituality? What priorities guide him as he leads a Church navigating secularization in the West and growth in the Global South?
The book promises more than a standard timeline. It features the Holy Father’s first public interview as pope, alongside testimony from friends, collaborators, and fellow Augustinians. Allen traces Leo's path from his early years in Chicago, through formation in the Augustinian order, to missionary service in Peru — where he later became a bishop — and eventually to his influential role at the Vatican overseeing bishops worldwide.
That trajectory matters. Leo XIV is not only North American; he also holds Peruvian citizenship. His decades in Latin America shaped a pastoral outlook attuned to migration, economic inequality, and the vitality of popular piety. At the same time, his years in Rome placed him at the center of episcopal appointments, giving him a panoramic view of the Church’s challenges across continents.
For Catholic readers, the biography offers insight into the priorities likely to define this pontificate for years to come: missionary outreach, episcopal accountability, and a renewed emphasis on spiritual formation. For non-Catholics, it provides context for a global leader whose voice carries moral weight far beyond ecclesial boundaries.
Allen, a longtime correspondent in Rome for Crux and formerly of Catholic News Agency, brings years of Vatican reporting to the project. Her proximity to the events surrounding the conclave and its aftermath gives the biography both immediacy and texture.
The English edition is currently available for pre-order through major retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop.org, Target, Powell’s, and Hudson Booksellers.
