Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States has been selected as the next pope, the first American pontiff in history.
He will be known as Pope Leo XIV. In his first remarks as pope from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, he called for peace and paid tribute to the late Pope Francis to a roaring crowd across the square..
Prevost received the necessary two-thirds majority vote to be elected pope, which likely occurred on the fourth ballot, following two failed ballets Thursday morning and one failed ballot Wednesday
Prevost, a 69-year-old from Chicago, is a leader with global experience. He spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and served as bishop in Peru. He most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
There were 133 voting cardinals and any one of them needed two-thirds of the vote to become the next pope. White smoke billowed above the Sistine Chapel this afternoon signaling the selection of a new pontiff.
Francis died at age 88 on Easter Monday, April 21, following a bout of health issues, which led to his longest hospital stay while pope. Francis was hospitalized earlier this year for bilateral pneumonia and bronchitis, and Vatican doctors said he died of cerebral stroke and irreversible heart failure.
