A joyous crowd in St. Peter’s Square cheered and applauded as the first puffs of smoke emerged from a small chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel.
Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States has been selected as the next pope, the first American pontiff in history. He will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
In his first remarks as pope from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, he called for peace and paid tribute to the late Pope Francis to a roaring crowd.
Prevost, a 69-year-old from Chicago, 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.
There were 133 voting cardinals and any one of them needed two-thirds of the vote to become the next pope. White smoke billowed above the Sistine Chapel earlier this afternoon signaling the selection of a new pontiff. Take a look at how the voting process worked.
