The new pope has been revealed as Robert Prevost of the US, the first American pontiff in history. He’ll be known as Pope Leo XIV.
This comes after white smoke billowed above the Sistine Chapel, the signal that cardinals had selected a new pontiff on the second day of the conclave.
• About the new pope:
Prevost, age 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is a leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and served as bishop in Peru. He most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
• What it took to get elected:
There were 133 voting cardinals, who had all been sequestered inside the Vatican during the conclave. Any one of them needed two-thirds of the vote to become the next pope.
Addressing the crowd in St Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the late Pope Francis, urging the crowd to remember his predecessor’s legacy.
“Let us keep in our ears the weak voice of Pope Francis that blesses Rome. The Pope who blessed Rome, gave his blessing to the entire world that morning of Easter. Allow me to follow up on that blessing. God loves us. God loves everyone. Evil will not prevail,” he said in Italian while addressing the crowd gathered at the Vatican.
