A cloud of white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney on Wednesday, signaling the election of a new pope and marking a historic moment for the Catholic Church as cardinals reached a decision following their secret conclave.
Robert Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, has just stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. He will soon speak.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States has been elected the 267th pope and will soon step onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
Prevost, 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is the first ever pope from the United States. He will be known as Leo XIV.
A leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023. Prevost also holds a Peruvian passport and has been a Peruvian citizen since 2015.
In an interview with Vatican News shortly after he became the leader of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost said: “I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is.”
There’s tens of thousands of people packed into St. Peter’s Square right now — and dozens of flags representing countries across the world.
We’ve seen Italian, Argentinian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Brazilian, Filipino and Polish flags, among many, many more.
All eyes are on the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
