After just two days of deliberation, the Catholic Church has elected Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new pope. The 69-year-old Chicago native will take the name Pope Leo XIV, making history as the first American to lead the Church.
Prevost, former Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru and a longtime leader of the Order of Saint Augustine, succeeds Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday at age 88.
The announcement came with white smoke from the Sistine Chapel and was confirmed from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, as bells rang out and crowds cheered.
Pope Leo XIV is now the 267th leader of the Catholic Church and the successor to St. Peter.
