For the first time in its 2,000-year history, the Catholic Church has elected an American pope.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, a 69-year-old Chicago native and longtime missionary in Peru, was chosen Thursday to lead more than 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide. He will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
The announcement came as white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 6:07 p.m. local time, marking the conclusion of the conclave and signaling to the world that a new pope had been chosen.
Prevost’s election comes after a career devoted to global service. Known for his pastoral work in Latin America and leadership at the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, Prevost was considered a unifying figure across the Church’s many factions.
As the first pope born in the United States, his election is seen as both groundbreaking and symbolic of the Church’s increasingly global reach.
