- The elections occur on the first voting day by 133 cardinal voters.
- First American to be chosen as Pope
- The new Pope will deliver its first public speech shortly.
Vatican City: Cardinal Robert Prevost was chosen in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name of Leo XIV, becoming the first pontiff of the United States.
Pope Leo appeared on the central balcony of the Basilica of San Pedro, around 70 minutes after the white smoke left a fireplace on the Sixtine chapel, which means that the 133 cardinal voters had chosen a new leader for the Catholic Church of 1.4 billion members.
“Peace be with all of you,” the new Pope told the multitude of cheers.
Premost's choice was announced by the French cardinal Dominique Mamberti with the Latin words “Habemus Papam (we have a Pope) to tens of thousands of people gathered in the Plaza de San Pedro to listen to the news.
At 69 and originally from Chicago, Prevost has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and became a cardinal only in 2023. He has given some media interviews and rarely speaks in public.
Leo becomes the 267th Catholic Pope after death last month of Pope Francis, who was the first Latin American Pope and had directed the church for 12 years and widely sought to open the institution's institution to the modern world.
Francis promulgated a variety of reforms and allowed the debate on divisive issues such as the ordering of women and a better inclusion of LGBT Catholics.
Before the conclave, some cardinals asked for continuity with Francis's vision of greater opening and reform, while others said they wanted to go back the clock and embrace the old traditions.
Prevost has attracted the interest of his companions due to his quiet style and his support for Francis, especially his commitment to social justice problems.
Prevost served as a bishop in Chiclayo, in northwest Peru, from 2015 to 2023.
Francis brought it to Rome that year to head the Vatican office in charge of choosing which priests should serve as Catholic bishops worldwide, which means that he has had a hand to select many of the world's bishops.
Prevost said during a 2023 Vatican press conference: “Our work is to expand the store and let everyone know that they are welcome within the Church.”
Pope Francis died on April 21 after governing the member church of 1.4 billion for 12 years. During his reign, he tried to open the Staid institution to the modern world, promulgating a variety of reforms and allowing the debate on divisive issues such as the management of women and a better inclusion of LGBT Catholics.
Although clear favorites had not emerged to happen, Cardinal Italian Pietro Parolin, who served as number two of the Vatican under Francis, and Cardinal Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle considered the favorites.
Other “Papili”, possible papal candidates in Italian, were Jean -MARC Aveline of France, Peter Erdo de Hungary, American Robert Prevost, Italy Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Filipino Pablo Virgilio David.
