Did Pope Leo XIV serve as priest in Nigeria as claimed?

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Elizabeth Ogunbamowo

Claim: Several Facebook accounts claimed the newly appointed Pope served as a priest in Nigeria for a couple of years. 

Verdict: Misleading! The Pope, an Augustinian, has only visited Nigeria at various times. He did not serve as a priest in the country, as claimed.

Full Text

On May 8, 2025, Robert Francis Prevost was elected leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. It was a moment of relief and celebration for Catholics around the world following the death of the previous Pope.

Following his election, several reports surfaced on social media about the new Pope’s missionary work, including his connection to Nigeria.

One such report featured a widely circulated image claiming that Pope Leo XIV had once served as a priest at St John’s Catholic Church in Mararaba, Nasarawa state.

The picture showed a group of Catholic priests adorned in their priestly attire and was captioned, “Small world. He was once a priest at St John Catholic Church, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, Archdiocese of Lafia, Nigeria. God is the only one who knows tomorrow. That’s His Holiness, the new Pope Leo XIV. Congratulations to Him…” 

The picture was shared here, here, here, and here.

Before the new Pope was announced, reports suggested he would be of African origin. However, as the newly elected Pope appeared from the Americas, social media users began exploring his potential links to African roots.

Did the new Pope serve as a priest in Nigeria at any time? DUBAWA fact-checked the claim due to its virality and potential to mislead people.

Verification

Following his appointment as the new Pope, Vatican News published a biography of Pope Leo XIV, which detailed his birth, education, and missionary career within the church.

The biography showed that he was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica in Rome, after which he obtained his licentiate in 1984. From 1985 to 1999, Prevost served in various capacities in Peru. First in Chulucanas, Piura and later in Trujillo. In his biography by the BBC, he was said to have obtained Peruvian citizenship in 2015, often referring to the country as his second homeland.

Between 1999 and 2013, Prevost served as Provincial Prior of the Augustinian Province in Chicago and as leader of the Order of St. Augustine. By 2014, he returned to Peru as Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo and was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo, a position he held from 2015 to 2023.

In 2023, Pope Francis called him to Rome to serve as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. ABC News described him as the first Augustinian friar elected pope in the church’s history. 

None of these accounts indicated that he served as a priest in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Prevost visited several countries before his ordination as the Pope. These include Tanzania, South Korea, the Philippines, Kenya, Indonesia, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia, and Nigeria. 

For someone with such a rich history of mission work in different countries, it is doubtful his service in Nigeria would have been omitted from his biography.

However, the Pope has visited Nigeria several times, mainly when he served as leader of the Order of St. Augustine. In September 2016, he posted a picture on his X handle with a caption written in Spanish. The caption translated to English reads: “For the first time, General Chapter of the Order of St. Augustine in the African continent—Abuja, Nigeria.”

The picture was also posted on Facebook by Midwest Augustinians, which explained the image captured Augustinians from all over the world in Nigeria for the General Mid-Chapter.

Other articles on the Midwest Augustinians’ website, dating back to 2016, also confirmed the Friar’s presence in Nigeria. 

In an article on the Nigeria Catholic Network, Prevost was said to have visited Nigeria between 2001 and 2013 while leading the Order of St. Augustine. 

“In the earlier years, the purpose of his visits was usually to be present at the Provincial Chapters of the Augustinian Province of Nigeria as the Prior General,” the article explained.

He was said to have visited areas where the Augustinians have a community, including Lagos, Jos, Benin, Bida, Ibusa, Iwaro Oka-Akoko, Kano, Warri, Kaduna, and Abuja. 

Conclusion

The newly elected pope did not serve as a priest in Nigeria, as claimed. The viral picture of him in the country was taken during one of his visits.