Leo XIV: Builder of Bridges Author: Fr Michael Collins ISBN-13: 978-1786052681Publisher: Red StripeGuideline Price: €16.99An eye‑catching photograph of Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, albeit with a Latin American hue from two decades as a missionary in Peru, dominates the cover of this informative biography by Dublin priest Fr Michael Collins. Subtitled Builder of Bridges, it echoes the logo associated with former president Mary McAleese, arguably the closest Ireland has come to a laywoman pope, given her Roman qualifications in canon law.Collins, already known for acclaimed works such as John Paul II: The Path to Sainthood, strengthens his reputation as a Vaticanologist with this study of how Cardinal Robert Prevost, an Augustinian friar from Chicago, was elected a year ago at age 69 to succeed Pope Francis as the 266th successor of St Peter. His journey began with his admission to the Augustinians and his ordination in June 1982.A pivotal moment in his rise was his superiors’ decision to send him to Rome for advanced studies in canon law at the Dominican Angelicum College of St Thomas Aquinas. There he befriended Fr Iggy O’Donovan of Co Tipperary, then studying history.Of particular interest to Irish readers is chapter eight, which recounts Prevost’s 2001 election as prior general of the worldwide Augustinian Order. At 46, he was the youngest in living memory, entrusted with a six‑year mandate later extended for another term.Collins notes how Prevost travelled widely on visitations, including several times to Ireland.Collins highlights his visit to the Augustinian Abbey in Fethard, Co Tipperary, for its 750th anniversary. On a “less auspicious occasion” in Cork, Prevost later revealed he was physically attacked, an incident he linked to shifting public attitudes toward clergy amid State investigations into abuse. [ Who is Robert Prevost? The American cardinal who is the new Pope Leo XIVOpens in new window ]These include his 2003 attendance at Trinity College Dublin for the presentation of a Festschrift to renowned theologian Fr Gabriel Daly, the only known visit of a future pope to Trinity. Other week‑long visits took place in Limerick in 2005, 2007 and 2009, as well as later provincial gatherings in 2003 and 2014. These merit inclusion in a second edition.John Cooney, former Religious Affairs, Brussels and Political Correspondent of The Irish Times, is preparing a biography of Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, Peace Pilgrim for a United Ireland.[ Pope Leo urges global rules to ‘disarm’ artificial intelligenceOpens in new window ]