Robert Francis Prevost became the first pope from the United States on Thursday, picking the papal name Leo XIV after cardinals from around the world elected him leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Tens of thousands of people packed in St Peter's Square cheered as Prevost appeared on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, waving with both hands, smiling and bowing. "Peace by with you," he told the crowds, before beginning his first address, where he called for "building bridges".
The 69-year-old native of Chicago, who spent years as a missionary in Peru, was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023. White smoke from the Sistine Chapel had billowed into the sky on the cardinals' second day of voting to announce his election in a secret conclave, while the bells of St Peter's Basilica and churches across Rome rang out.
Crowds of people rushed towards the square to watch the balcony of the basilica, which has been fitted out with red curtains for the first address to the world by the 267th pope. The new pontiff, who succeeds Argentine reformer Pope Francis, was introduced in Latin with his chosen papal name.
Pope Francis died last month aged 88 after a 12-year papacy during which he sought to forge a more compassionate Church, but drew anger from many conservatives with his progressive approach.
The new pope now faces a momentous task: as well as asserting his moral voice on a conflict-torn global stage, he must try to unite a divided Church and tackle burning issues such as the the continued fall-out from the sexual abuse scandal.
Some 133 "Princes of the Church" from five continents, the largest and most international conclave ever, began voting on Wednesday afternoon. Sworn to secrecy, on pain of excommunication, their only means of communicating their progress to the outside world was by sending up smoke through the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
On Wednesday evening and then again on Thursday lunchtime, the smoke was black, eliciting disappointed sighs from the tens of thousands watching. But on Thursday afternoon the smoke emitted was white, confirming that the Catholic Church has a new spiritual leader.
The question was whether to choose a pastor or diplomat, a liberal or conservative, someone versed in the Curia, the Church's governing body, or a relative outsider from areas of the world where Catholic faith is thriving. Before the cardinals were locked into the Sistine Chapel Wednesday, their dean Giovanni Battista Re urged them to choose someone able to protect the Church's unity.
