Reading Time: 3 minutes
On the second day of the conclave following the death of Pope Francis, white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, indicating that the 133 cardinals inside had elected a new pope.
Now, the identity of the new leader of the Catholic Church has been revealed. And for the first time in history, the pope is American by birth.
In keeping with tradition, the senior cardinal deacon — French prelate Dominique Mamberti currently holds the title — made the announcement in Latin from St. Peter’s Balcony.
“Habemus Papam,” Mamberti began, Latin for “we have a pope.”
He then announced that Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost has been selected for the highest office in the Roman Catholic Church.
What do we know about Robert Prevost, Pope Leo XIV
Born in 1955 to Mildred Martines and Louis Marius Prevost — a school administrator and World War II veteran — Pope Leo felt the call to the priesthood early in life.
After completing studies at the minor seminary of the Order of St. Augustine in 1973, Prevost earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics at Villanova University in 1977
He was ordained in 1982 and made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 1982.
One of the more highly educated popes in recent history, Leo speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese, and can read Latin and German, per Wikipedia.
He was awarded a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago
After spending several years as an American missionary ministering in Peru, Leo was selected to lead the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops.
A favorite of Francis’
Though Leo was not considered the most likely candidate to be elected at this week’s conclave, he has long been a rising star in the college of cardinals.
He was twice elected prior general of the Augustinian religious order, and in 2014, Francis handpicked him to serve as the administrator and later archbishop of Chiclayo.
According to the New York Post, Leo acquired Peruvian citizenship in 2015, and Francis brought him to Rome in 2023 to assume the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Leo XIV is now the 267th pope in history and the third straight to be selected on the second day of the conclave.
Out of necessity, the papacy has become an increasingly political job in recent generations. It remains to be seen what sort of stances Leo will take as pope.
Will he be a progressive figure like Francis, or will he take a more conservative worldview in the style of Francis predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
1.4 billion Roman Catholics are now eagerly waiting to find out.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
