See Pope Leo XIV’s Villanova college yearbook photo

When Pope Leo XIV made his official entrance on the balcony of the Vatican to introduce himself as the leader of the Catholic Church, he was wearing the traditional vestment and had a warm, welcoming presence.

But in the Villanova Class of 1977 yearbook is a picture of Robert F. Prevost, suited up, with bushy eyebrows and some very 1970s sideburns.

Long before becoming head of the Catholic Church, Prevost strolled down the halls of Villanova University working on a bachelor of science in mathematics.

In 1977, a then-plump-faced Prevost sat for his yearbook picture, unaware of the power he would eventually wield in the Catholic Church.

Much as in the present day, his velvety skin comes through in the photo, and his characteristic upper lip mole highlights his slight smile.

Unlike the kind eyes he showed in his first entrance on the Vatican’s balcony, he appears in deep thought, brow slightly furrowed. He may have been thinking about math class, where, according to his former professor Robert Beck, the future pontiff maintained excellent attendance.

“Our new pope was not the first math student who went on to seminary, but he’s certainly the first one to become the pope,” Beck said.

Besides the suit and a polka-dot tie, the biggest difference in Prevost’s look is his hairstyle.

Back then, he sported wavy dark hair parted to the side, with chin-length sideburns, a contrast to his now close-cropped gray hair.

But dated hair doesn’t make the man.

After leaving his alma mater, Prevost got a master of divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982, becoming a priest that year, and a licentiate and doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome in 1984 and 1987, respectively.

This doesn’t mean Prevost never returned to Villanova. In 2014, he received an honorary doctor of humanities, honoris causa, for his work.

It didn’t come with a yearbook picture.

Staff writer Max Marin contributed to this article.