In a historic decision on Thursday, American Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. His papal name is Pope Leo XIV — the first pontiff in history to hail from the United States. The College of Cardinals selected the American cleric to lead the Catholic Church, becoming the spiritual leader of over 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.
The announcement came roughly an hour after white smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City on Thursday afternoon, a traditional sign that a new pope had been successfully chosen by the 133 cardinal electors during their conclave, which began on May 7, lasted two days. A short time later, protodeacon of the College of Cardinals came out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and announced “habemus papum,” which means “we have a pope.”
Shortly thereafter, Pope Leo XIV made his first public appearance, stepping onto the balcony to address the world. He began in Italian: “Peace be with you. Here is the face of the risen Christ — humble, disarming. A God who loves each of us without condition. We still hear the gentle, brave voice of Pope Francis, who blessed not only Rome, but the entire world that Easter morning. I wish to continue in that blessing. God loves us — all of us. Evil shall not triumph; we are in God’s care. Let us walk forward with courage, together, as followers of Christ. The world needs His light now more than ever. Humanity longs for that light.”
Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955, earning his bachelor’s in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and went on to receive his diploma in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. He was later sent to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University and was ordained as a priest in June 1982. Later in his career, he taught canon law in the seminary in Trujillo, Peru, and also holds Peruvian citizenship. Before his election, Prevost led the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, a department responsible for selecting new bishops throughout the Church.
Pope Leo is generally viewed as a moderate within the Church hierarch, and is considered progressive on many social issues — echoing Pope Francis’ focus on outreach to the poor and marginalized communities, including migrants. However, when it comes to doctrinal matters, he holds more traditional views, i.e, he does not support the ordination of women as deacons.
President Donald Trump congratulated the new pope in a social media post, writing: “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
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