As Reported by the House General Government Committee

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. R. No. 139

2025-2026

Representatives Mathews, A., Odioso

Cosponsors: Representatives Thomas, D., Peterson, Sweeney, Schmidt, Brennan, Gross, Williams, Barhorst, Abrams, Rader, Rogers, Demetriou, Richardson, Daniels, LaRe, Brent, Miller, K.

A R E S O L U T I O N

To honor Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States of America, and to highlight his life and accomplishments.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

WHEREAS, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the 267th Pope, in a continuous line back to Peter, on May 8, 2025, becoming the first American Pope, and chose Leo XIV as his papal name; and

WHEREAS, The first pontiff from the Augustinian order and the first from the United States and North America, a son of the Midwest, Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 14, 1955, to Mildred Martínez and Louis Marius Prevost; he grew up with two brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph; educated at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers, he went on to complete his bachelor's degree in mathematics at Villanova University, where he also studied philosophy; in 1977, he entered the novitiate of the Order of St. Augustine in the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel of Chicago; he made his solemn vows four years later and received his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago; his superiors then sent him to Rome, where he was ordained a priest at the Augustinian College of St. Monica and earned his doctorate in cannon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas; and

WHEREAS, A man born in Illinois and educated in Pennsylvania rises to the title of the Vicar of Christ, Pope Leo XIV has extensive international experience; sent to an Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985, he served that nation's Catholic population in many roles, including as a missionary, parish priest, and professor; he was twice elected Prior General of the Ordinary General Chapter of the Order of St. Augustine, and in 2015, he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo; eight years later, Pope Francis promoted him to archbishop and called him to Rome as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; he was also named a member of the Dicasteries for Evangelization; in 2024, he was created a cardinal in the Consistory, and Pope Francis elevated him to the Order of Bishops the following year, granting him the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano; following Pope Francis' hospitalization in February 2025, Cardinal Prevost presided over the March 3 Rosary for the Pope in St. Peter's Square; and

WHEREAS, With the selection of the name of Pope Leo XIV, and the ties to the encyclical Rerum Novarum, we are encouraged to work for the policies that recognize the dignity of work and the primacy of the family; and

WHEREAS, Pope Leo XIV has proven himself to be a spiritual leader of tremendous ability, and his faith community around the world looks forward to an era defined by his wisdom, compassion, and devotion; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That we, the members of the House of Representatives of the 136th General Assembly of the State of Ohio, in adopting this resolution, honor Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of his election to the papacy and extend to him sincere best wishes for the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit a duly authenticated copy of this resolution to Pope Leo XIV as an expression of high regard by the Ohio House of Representatives.