Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, May 8, 2025.
Guglielmo Mangiapane | Reuters
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as pope on Thursday, the first time an American has been selected as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
Prevost, 69, chose the papal name Leo XIV.
A Chicago native who spent much of his ministry in Peru, Prevost was chosen on the second day and fourth ballot of the cardinals’ conclave in Vatican City.
His election was announced by Cardinal Dominique Mamberti more than an hour after cardinals signaled his election with plumes of white smoke billowing from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel.
People holding a U.S. flag react as newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost of the U.S., appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, May 8, 2025.
Dylan Martinez | Reuters
Pope Leo, who is a member of the Augustinian Order, appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, where he addressed a large crowd gathered in the huge square below in both Italian and Spanish. He did not speak in English.
The prior pontiff, Pope Francis, died April 21 at age 88.
In recent Vatican conclaves, the new pope’s name was announced between 25 minutes and 66 minutes after white smoke was seen above the Sistine Chapel. White smoke was seen at about 12:07 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Leo is the 267th Roman Catholic pontiff, the spiritual leader of more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide. Popes are considered successors to St. Peter, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.
Leo in February tweeted a National Catholic Reporter article rebuking U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who is a convert to Catholicism. The article was headlined, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
Before his election, Leo headed the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops, which advises the pope on appointments of bishops, who lead the world’s Catholic dioceses.
Leo was made a cardinal in 2023.
He is a graduate of Villanova University in Philadelphia, the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
President Donald Trump congratulated Leo on Truth Social later Thursday, writing, “it is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope.”
Trump drew criticism after posting on social media Friday an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope a week after attending Francis’ funeral in Rome.
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