ROME – Cardinal Robert Prevost became the first American-born leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday upon his election by the papal conclave, taking the name Leo XIV.
The new pope addressed the crowd from a balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after being chosen as the successor of Pope Francis, who died last month, calling on people to help “build bridges” through dialogues and encounters for peace.
Pope Leo XIV, 69, was selected on the second day of the conclave that began on Wednesday to determine the 267th pope.
The Chicago native was sent to Peru as a missionary in 1985 and obtained citizenship in the South American country in 2015. He became a cardinal in 2023.
In total, 133 cardinal electors from 70 countries including in Asia and Africa took part in the vote, which was seen as a choice about whether to continue Francis’s reformist trajectory.
The pope’s selection was announced to the public with the release of white smoke from a chimney at the Sistine Chapel.
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest branch of Christianity globally, with around 1.4 billion believers worldwide as of 2023, according to the Vatican.
U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated the election of a U.S. pope, saying on social media, “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American pope.”
BY: The Times Union
