Newly elected Pope Leo XIV is going viral for his very unexpected university degree

Cardinal Robert Prevost was named the pope last week, and as we learn more about the new leader of the Catholic church, some surprising details have been discovered.

The 69-year-old was confirmed as Pope Francis' successor on Thursday (8 May), making history as the first ever American to take on the position, taking the papal name of Pope Leo XIV.

In the days since Pope Leo's ascension to power, those online and members of the media have been looking to discover everything they can about him, including his views on certain stances.

Pope Leo XIV was born in September 1955 in Chicago and made a Cardinal by Pope Francis after spending much of his life as a missionary in Peru, where he also served as Bishop from 2015 to 2023.

Prior to that, he received an education at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers before moving onto Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

Pope Leo's university degree has everyone stumped (Simone Risoluti - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

While you might expect a pope who has gone to university to have studied something along the lines of Theology or Religious Studies, however, Prevost went down a different route when he was a young adult, instead studying mathematics.

And he clearly worked hard as he earned himself a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.

However, alongside mathematics, he did also study philosophy, which probably looks great on his CV.

People on X were pretty impressed and also surprised with the pope's choice of subject.

One user joked (via MailOnline): "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."

Another said: "Math major possible career paths: quant, programmer, grad student… pope," while a third added: "Pope Leo XIV has a math degree from Villanova University. He doesn't just understand sin. He also understands cos."

The pope's career could have been very different (Getty stock)

A fourth said: "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."

And someone else commented: "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."

The job market is indeed pretty tough right now and the pope perhaps didn't expect to end up where he is today when he chose to study mathematics all the way back in the 1970s.

For those of you thinking he now has a backup plan in place as a mathematician or engineer then that probably won't cross his mind, since papal renunciations are extremely rare, with the exception of six.

But while he won't earn a salary in his new role as Pope, he will be offered an incredible amount of wealth instead.