Vatican City, May 8 (UNI) Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, was elected as the new Pope -- becoming the first pope ever from the United States. Prevost chose Leo XIV as his papal name.
The cardinal electors of the Catholic Church elected an American from among their own ranks on Thursday to serve as the new pope.
He will serve as the next Bishop of Rome, leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.
The new pontiff's identity was revealed about an hour after white smoke emerged from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, signaling that a new pope has been chosen with a decisive vote by the cardinal electors gathered for the papal conclave.
After about an hour, the declaration was made from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica: "Habemus papam."
The crowd in St. Peter's Square erupted in stunned applause again as it was announced that the Catholic Church, for the first time in its history, had chosen an American as its leader.
"Peace be with you," he said as he began speaking to the gathered masses in Italian.
The Chicago-born pope is also a national of Peru, where he worked for many years.
His most recent role was as the head of the church's Dicastery for Bishops, meaning he oversaw the selection of new bishops.
Overall, he's considered a centrist, but on many social issues he's seen as progressive, embracing marginalised groups like Francis, who championed migrants and the poor. But Prevost opposes ordaining women as deacons, for instance, so he's seen as conservative on church doctrine, CBS reported.
The conclave to choose a successor to Pope Francis began on Wednesday afternoon, local time. The 133 cardinal electors taking part in the process prayed together and took a vow of secrecy before the doors closed and the first round of votes were cast. As night fell, black smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel's chimney, indicating they had not yet agreed on a choice.
On Thursday morning, the cardinals resumed the process for Day 2 and, yet again, before lunch time in Rome, black smoke signaled no decisive outcome from the morning's round of two votes.
UNI RN