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Pope Leo XIV: Robert Prevost elected first US pontiff

By: Wanted in Rome

Date:

08 May, 2025

Cardinal Prevost, who succeeds Francis as the first pope from the US, takes the name Leo XIV.

US Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday evening, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.

Prevost, 69, is the first pope from the United States however he has spent most of his ministry as a missionary in Peru, becoming a Peruvian citizen in 2015.

He succeeds Pope Francis, who died last month aged 88, to become the 267th pope and leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Prevost is the first Augustinian pope, serving twice as prior general of the religious order, and he became a cardinal in 2023.

That same year Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, the Vatican department that oversees the selection of bishops around the world.

Originally from Chicago, Prevost has kept a low profile with the media however through his work in Rome he is known to many of his fellow cardinals.

Habemus Papam! The moment that Cardinal Robert Prevost is announced as Pope Leo XIV. pic.twitter.com/RKgcdJIeQH
— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) May 8, 2025

News of his election as pontiff was announced from the balcony over St Peter's Square by the Cardinal Proto-Deacon Dominique Mamberti who uttered the words "Habemus papam" (Latin for "We have a pope").

The newly-elected Pope Leo XVI then appeared on the balcony where he imparted his first Urbi et Orbi (To the city and the world) blessing and said "Peace be with you all".

News that a pope had been elected was first signalled around an hour earlier by white smoke that billowed out from a chimney over the Sistine Chapel where the papal conclave was held.

The 133 cardinal-electors, who had been in isolation since the secretive election process began on Wednesday afternoon, elected Prevost on the fourth ballot.

In order to secure the two-thirds majority required, Prevost will have received at least 89 votes.

He will then have been asked by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Battista Re, whether he was willing to accept the role of supreme pontiff and what name he would like to be known as pope.

After this, he will have been taken to the so-called Room of Tears to don the white papal vestments before making his first appearance as pope.

Photo credit: Vatican Media.