White smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel on Thursday signaled that a conclave of cardinals have selected a new pope: Robert Prevost of the United States. He is the first American Pope in history and will go by Leo XIV. Cardinal Dominique Mamberti of France made the announcement.
Prevost, 69, comes from Chicago. CNN reports that Prevost did missionary work in Peru and led a Vatican office for vetting bishops. He was the bishop of Chiclayo from 2014 to 2023; notably, he added three women to the voting bloc for bishops. His election is remarkable, according to The Associated Press, since Americans have not been elected pope in recent years because of the country’s geopolitical power.
The largest group of cardinals in history, 133 total, had sequestered themselves in the iconic Vatican City chapel to determine Pope Francis’ successor, following his death last month after a 12-year papacy. The New York Times reports that the conclave itself lasted a little more than 24 hours; previous elections have stretched out two or three days. Pope Francis had appointed many of the cardinals who participated in the vote, but some were meeting for the first time.
Pope Francis, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires in 1936, died on April 21, a couple of months after he was hospitalized with bronchitis. Pope Francis had struggled with respiratory issues for most of his life following a battle with pneumonia when he was a young man. After Pope Benedict XVI abdicated his papacy in 2013, just shy of eight years as pope, Pope Francis began his on March 13, 2013.
Pushing a more progressive agenda than his predecessors, Pope Francis preached understanding and humanity. His final message to the public was, “There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression.” His papacy was marked by what people viewed as liberal stances toward LGBTQ+ community, climate change, capitalism, and divorce, though others criticized his comments about women’s roles in society and a homophobic slur he made last year. Nevertheless, he earned the colloquial title, “The People’s Pope.”
