On the second day of the conclave, the 133 cardinals elected the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a native of Chicago, is the new pope and has taken the name Leo XIV. He is the first elected pope from the United States.
“This is the first greetings of the resurrected Christ, the good shepherd who has given up his life for God, and I should also like this greeting of peace to enter our hearts and our families,” said the new pope in his first public statement to the faithful.
On Thursday morning, a plume of much-awaited white smoke floated out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signaling that someone had been elected pope. Crowds rejoiced at the sight of the end of the balloting process as the pomp and circumstance started with a number of official Vatican bands playing the Italian national anthem and the Swiss Guard marching in formation.
The rush of people soon filled St. Peter’s Square as they awaited the official word from the Roman Catholic Church, from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, to announce “they have joyous news.”
“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,” Pope Leo XIV said.
Who is Cardinal Robert Prevost?
According to Vatican News, Leo XIV is 69 years old and is American and Peruvian.
Born Sep. 14, 1955, he was Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops; president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America under Pope Francis. He was previously the Archbishop of Chiclayo, Peru, head of the Augustinian religious order.
He is the first Augustinian Pope and the second Roman Pontiff from the Americas after Pope Francis.
He received his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. At the age of 27, he was sent by his superiors to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum).
In Rome, he was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica by Monsignor Jean Jadot.
Francis Prevost returned to the Vatican in 2023 to serve as the head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church in light of recent scandals that engulfed the church.
Is Pope Leo XIV conservative? Is Pope Leo XIV liberal?
The new pope was closely aligned with Pope Francis in many of his initiatives, even serving in key leadership roles during his papacy.
He presided over one of the largest reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope.
In early 2025, Francis again showed his esteem by appointing Prevost to the most senior rank of cardinals, suggesting he would at least be Francis’ choice in any future conclave.
How long did past conclaves take?
The recent conclave continues a trend of expedient elections of a pontiff. Pope Francis was elected in 2013 after only two days and five ballots. Pope Benedict XVI was elected within three days and after four ballots. In 1978, Pope John Paul II was elected after two days and eight ballots.
The longest conclave ever took two years, nine months and two days. It ended with the election of Gregory X on Sept. 1, 1271.
Over the last 100 years, the longest conclave took 14 ballots, lasted five days and produced Pope Pius XI in 1922, USA Today reported.
Kristian Jaime is the Top Story Reporter for the El Paso Times and is reachable at Kjaime@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Who is Robert Francis Prevost? Details to know about the first pope from United States
Reporting by Kristian Jaime, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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