Pope Leo XIV: Irish priests recall 'the quiet guy' who went on to inherit the chair of St Peter
Pope Leo visiting Tipperary in Ireland in 2005: Then Augustinian Order provincial general Robert Prevost (now Pope Leo XIV), centre, with Fr John Meagher OSA who celebrated Mass, and Fr Gerry Horan OSA, at the Augustinian Abbey in Fethard.
The new Pope Leo XIV seemingly came from nowhere to become the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and he kept a similarly low profile on numerous visits to Ireland in the noughties, according to those who met him.
Amiable and unfailingly polite, nevertheless Fr Bob, as he was then known, kept his innermost thoughts close to his chest when in Ireland, even on the most seemingly innocuous subjects.
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