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White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel chimney at 6:06 p.m. Rome time, signaling the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, of Chicago, as the 267th pope in the Church’s 2,000-year history. He has chosen the name Pope Leo XIV.
The conclave began just a day earlier on Wednesday, May 7, and concluded in either the fourth or fifth round of voting, Vatican officials said. Cardinal Dominique Mamberti made the official announcement from St. Peter’s balcony to roaring cheers, saying, “I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope.”
Pope Leo XIV brings an academic background as unique as his historic appointment. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977, before pursuing a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He also holds a licentiate and doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
He had been scheduled to travel to Philadelphia later this summer to receive the Saint Augustine Medal. The honor was set to be presented on Thursday, Aug. 28, during a Mass at St. Augustine Church, followed by a dinner reception at the Union League of Philadelphia. It is unclear if he will still attend.
More than 130 cardinals from 70 countries participated in the election.
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