Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States has been elected the 267th pope and has stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
He now known as Pope Leo XIV.
Prevost, 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is the first ever pope from the United States.
In his first words as pope, a visibly emotional Leo said to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square: “Peace be with you all.”
Addressing the crowd in St. Peter’s Square, Leo paid tribute to the late pontiff Francis, urging the crowd to remember his predecessor’s legacy before outlining his vision for the Catholic Church.
“We have to seek together to be a missionary church. A church that builds bridges and dialogue,” he said. Speaking in Italian to thousands of Catholic faithful, Leo called on people to “show our charity” to others “and be in dialogue with love.”
Leo was chosen just two days after a group of 133 Cardinals gathered in conclave to select a new pontiff.
That timeline matches the previous two gatherings, suggesting that Prevost quickly impressed his peers during the secretive process.
Francis and Benedict XVI were both revealed in the evening of the conclave’s second day, while John Paul II, the longest-reigning pope of modern times, was selected on the third day in 1978.
A leader with global experience, Prevost 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 Francis’ reforms.
Prevost worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023. In 2015, he also received Peruvian citizenship.
The new pontiff is a member of the Augustinian religious order – which he also led for more than a decade as their prior general, which has given him leadership experience of leading an order spread across the world.
Considered a highly capable and accomplished leader, Prevost most recently led the powerful Vatican office for new bishop appointments, the Dicastery for Bishops, assessing candidates and making recommendations to the late pope. He also served as the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
While it is often said cardinal electors would always shy away from choosing a pope from the US, due to America’s outsized global political influence, Prevost’s long experience in Peru may have mitigated those fears among the electors.
“He’s somebody that, even though he’s from the West, would be very attentive to the needs of a global church,” said Elise Allen, CNN’s Vatican analyst.
“You’re talking about somebody who spent over half of his ecclesial career abroad as a missionary in Peru.”