One unexpected feature in the flurry of interest surrounding recently elected Pope Leo XIV has caught the attention of the internet community.
It’s the religious leader’s undergraduate degree, not his age or ethnicity.
Admirers have characterised the 69-year-old Pontiff, who was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, as an unusual fusion of traditional devotion and contemporary sensibility.
He is very different from the more conventional papal image, and the Italian press has dubbed him the ‘Latin Yankee’.
He has worked in Latin America and Europe for decades, speaks five languages, and is a fan of the 2024 thriller Conclave, which he apparently watched just before the real thing happened.
However, a less well-known aspect of his past is currently trending on the internet.
Before white robes and Vatican speeches, Pope Leo was a quiet, bright student at Pennsylvania’s Villanova University, an Augustinian university.
In 1977, he received his degree. The truth is much more surprising, even if some might have assumed he studied philosophy or religion.
The Pope is a maths major with a bachelor’s degree.
“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 (formerly Twitter).
“Math major possible career paths: quant, programmer, grad student… pope,” someone else added.
A third added wryly, “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.”
One comment read: “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.”
Many people find it odd to think of a spiritual leader who formerly studied differential equations and solved calculus problems.
One X user summed it up best: “HE’S A MATH MAJOR???”
And the new Pope has given us more surprises than just this one.
In interviews, his brothers have often made fun of him for being a “goody two shoes” as a child.
Louis Prevost said, When we were little kids we used to tease him, “You’re going to be pope someday, you’re too holy!”
The internet is still struggling to comprehend the most recent seeming contrast as Pope Leo XIV takes on the role of spiritual leader for 1.3 billion Catholics.
Pope Leo XIV will soon get the precious jewels and extensive estate that come with the papacy, including gold jewellery, a bulletproof popemobile, and luxurious papal lodgings, among other work-related benefits.
His childhood in an Illinois suburb will be a long cry from his new existence at the Vatican.
The pallium, an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic church, will be given to the first American Pope during his inauguration this week at a lavish mass.
After that, the Fisherman’s ring—possibly the most emblematic item of jewellery a pope can wear—will be put on his finger.
According to reports, the ring, which bears his papal name and a picture of St. Peter casting his net, is worth an estimated $520,000.
The pectoral crosses, which are unique to each pope, are another priceless piece of jewellery that they wear.
Leo XIV wore a cross with a detachable cover that holds the bones of saints, which was presented to him by his religious order, the Augustinians, when he was elected a cardinal in 2023, as he greeted the faithful Thursday following his election.
Fragments of the bones of three important saints for the order—St. Augustine, his mother St. Monica, and the archbishop St. Thomas of Villanova from the 16th century—are found on the cross.
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