On May 10, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon has sent a congratulatory telegram to the newly elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Robert Francis Prevost (Pope Leo XIV), according to the Tajik president’s official website.

“I have the honor to extend to you my sincere congratulations on your election as the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.  I am confident that under your constructive leadership, the Holy See will continue to make a worthy contribution to the comprehensive implementation of the principles of peace and stability, tolerance, universal harmony, as well as the promotion of universal human values and dialogue between civilizations, further strengthening its position and authority on the international stage,” reads the message to Pope Leo XIV.

Rahmon also noted that Tajikistan is "interested in developing and expanding good relations with the Vatican in all areas of mutual interest."

Robert Francis Prevost, 69, has become the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter and he will be known as Leo XIV.

He is the first American to fill the role of pope, although he is considered as much a cardinal from Latin America because of the many years he spent as a missionary in Peru. 

Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Leo served as an altar boy and was ordained in 1982.

Although he moved to Peru three years later, he returned regularly to the US to serve as a priest and a prior in his home city.

He has Peruvian nationality and is fondly remembered as a figure who worked with marginalized communities and helped build bridges.

He spent 10 years as a local parish pastor and as a teacher at a seminary in Trujillo in north-western Peru.