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The Catholic Church and its approximately 1.4 billion followers have a new leader and the first American pope.
At 6:06 p.m. Rome time Thursday, May 8, white smoke emanated from the Sistine Chapel's chimney, signaling that the Cardinal electors had decided on a new pope.
Robert Francis Prevost, age 69, currently the cardinal from Chicago, is the new pontiff, the 267th head of the church in its 2,000-year history, He has taken the name of Pope Leo XIV.
Just over an hour after the white smoke appeared, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti announced from the balcony of St. Peter's that the pope had been selected, saying to the massive crowd, "I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope."
The conclave to choose the new pope began a day earlier, on Wednesday, May 7. It is currently unclear if the new pope was elected after four or five votes.
The 133 cardinal electors came from 70 nations.
Pope Leo XIV’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977 and a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
Additionally, he holds both a licentiate and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
After his 1982 ordination as a priest, he joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985.
He was appointed by Pope Francis as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023, a powerful position responsible for selecting bishops.
He was elevated to cardinal in September 2023.
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