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Pope Leo XIV was once a student called Robert Francis Prevost, and studied a surprising degree at Villanova University where he walked the same halls as two of the most famous faces on Earth

Pope Leo XIV has been the new head of the Catholic Church for less than a week, after being elected on May 8. Considering how many loved his predecessor Pope Francis I, the papal conclave took over social media by storm, with countless people – Catholic or not – watching with baited breath to see who would become the next supreme pontiff.

While several frontrunners became clear, not many expected Robert Francis Prevost to win the vote, with the Chicagoan becoming the first American pope. Considering his background, Leo XIV has an all-American history with many surprising twists and turns – and internet sleuths have just uncovered a very interesting tidbit about his university years.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, social media users are going wild about a photo of the young pope in his old college yearbook. Born in 1955, Prevost went to Villanova University. It turns out that he’s not the only famous face to have attended the school, but he’s taken a very different path to some of his fellow alumni.

In the photo of young Leo XIV, the bishop is seen rocking a full head of dark hair, and posing with a serious expression while sporting a slick suit. ‘Robert F. Provost’ is written above the pope-to-be. The world leader joined the private Catholic university after leaving St. Augustine Seminary High School on the honour roll – and serving as an altar boy at his local St. Mary of the Assumption Church – and graduated in 1977 with a degree in mathematics.

While becoming the pope is hardly an easy task, Provost isn’t alone in exceeding expectations after graduating from Villanova. Jill Biden, the wife of Joe Biden and former First Lady of the United States of America, also attended the institution. Jill had already bagged plenty of degrees, but went to Villanova for her second graduate degree and gained her Master of Arts in 1987.

On the flip side, Hollywood star Bradley Cooper also went to Villanova straight out of high school. The actor only attended for one year, before he switched to Georgetown University – which is also private and Catholic but took him out of his birth state of Pennsylvania.

While Bradley was raised Catholic and still identifies with the Church, his path has taken him far away from the Vatican. Unlike Prevost, you’re more likely to see the star on the red carpet than blessing babies – and Bradley has taken on some very unorthodox roles in films such as Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and The Hangover.

Villanova is now in the public eye thanks to its connection to Pope Leo XIV, and even rang church bells around its campus to mark its old student’s appointment as head of the Catholic Church. The institution also released a statement, with President Rev. Peter M. Donohue enthusing: “As an Augustinian Catholic institution, we celebrate this significant day for our University community and the global Church.

“Villanova, built on the teachings of St. Augustine, has always been grounded in advancing a deeper understanding of the fundamental relationship between faith and reason, between spirituality and wisdom.

Looking to bag a great deal on the best summer beauty products, or stock up your suitcase before your holiday? You won’t want to miss this limited-edition beauty bundle, saving you over £170

If you love beauty – and also love a bargain – then you need to check out this way to bag a huge bundle of summer skin, hair, make-up and sunscreen treats for a fraction of their usual cost, including big name brands such as Trinny London, Nuxe and Hello Sunday.

OK! Beauty Box, know for being one of the UK’s best value beauty subscription services, has just released a limited edition, one-off-purchase Summer Beauty Box containing 12 brilliant products, eight of which as full size. Altogether the products inside are worth over £220 but the box costs £49.99 to buy – a saving of over £170.

This means that if you divide the cost by the number of products inside, every item costs you around £4.16, making it an excellent way to stock up or try out some new things – especially as one of the products inside is worth £40 just on its own.

READ MORE: ‘My boyfriend and I both use this £15 non-greasy Boots face sunscreen on holiday’

READ MORE: Gentle yet effective eye cream that makes skin ‘less puffy and wrinkled’ now has 20% off

Even better, if you’re already an OK! Beauty Box subscriber then you can get the box for £39.99 instead, giving each product a value of around £3.33. If you’re not yet signed up but considering it, you can do so here and get your first monthly beauty box for £8.99 instead of the usual £15.

My personal highlights inside this Summer Beauty Box are the Trinny London bronzer (worth £25 and perfectly compact), Hello Sunday The Take-Out One Invisible Sun Stick SPF30 (just the thing for sun protection touch-ups) and a cute little travel-size bottle of cult classic Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or Florale.

Here’s exactly what you get for your £50:

• Hello Sunday The Take-Out One Invisible Sun Stick SPF30 with Hyaluronic Acid – 30g full-size, RRP £20
• Gruum Solstråler After Sun Face Oil – 30ml full-size, RRP £15
• Glowcore Gua Sha – full-size, RRP £10.80
• Trinny London Golden Glow Bronzer in the shade Naomi – 4g full-size, RRP £25
• KVD Beauty Tattoo Pencil Liner Waterproof Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in the shade Trooper Black – 0.35g mini, RRP £13
• Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or Florale – 10ml travel-size, RRP £4.40
• Bondi Sands Tropical Rum Body Moisturiser – 200ml full-size, RRP £5.99
• Bellapierre Cosmetics All Eyes On You Eyeshadow Palette – four shades full-size, RRP £25
• Avant Reconstructing Keratin Complex Ultra Shine Hair Cream – 25ml travel-size, RRP £17
• Mudmasky Glow-Up Cleanser – 60ml full-size, RRP £39.99
• Balance Me Super Firming Body Oil – 30 ml travel-size, RRP £12
• Amphora Aromatics Mint and Dead Sea Salts Deep Cleansing Face Mask – 100ml full-size, RRP £14.40
• Plus a voucher to redeem for four copies of OK! Magazine, RRP £18.40

In my opinion it’s the perfect mix of essentials to see you through summer (a bug tube of body lotion, a glowy face oil, a handbag-friendly SPF stick) plus suitcase-sized treats (the Nuxe body oil, a hair treatment) and perhaps some new things to try out (for example, the gua sha feels lovely and cooling in hot weather).

Like all of these limited-edition boxes with huge savings, however, you haven’t got long to shop it, as they typically sell out quickly – so if you want snap up £220 of these top beauty products for less than £50, now’s the time to do so.

If you’re looking for alternative money-saving beauty boxes, either for yourself or to gift to someone else, Lookfantastic has launched its Summer Heroes Edit, containing the likes of Sol de Janeiro and Caudalie and worth over £150 but yours for £45.

Meanwhile Cult Beauty’s The Set For Sun Edit has a big focus on sun cream, and contains Elemis, Supergoop and The Inkey List; it costs £40 but worth over £175.