The conclave on Thursday, May 8, elected a new pope. This is after a white smoke was seen billowing from the Sistine Chapel.
133 cardinals from across the globe voted in the highly secretive exercise, and the winner got the two-thirds majority needed to be elected Pontiff.
Crowds at the Vatican who had gathered to witness the new pope's election erupted into cheers in St Peter's Square after seeing the white smoke billowing from the chimney at around 6.10 pm.
Louder cheers erupted after American Cardinal Robert Prevost was selected as the new Pope. This was confirmed by Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti from the Loggia of Blessings of St. Peter's Basilica.
In a historic moment, Cardinal Prevost became the first American Pope in the history of the Catholic church and took the name Pope Leo XIV.
Cardinal Prevost, 69, was born in Chicago. He spent years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.
After his appointment, the new pontiff was expected to be taken to the adjacent antechamber within the Sistine Chapel known as the 'Room of Tears' where he would change from his scarlet cardinal’s outfit into a white papal cassock.
Consequently, he was led to the main balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to greet the crowd and issue his first apostolic blessing.
He was met with a raucous cheers with the large crowd chanting in massive celebration. The crowd had been building up at St. Peter's Square for close for an hour after white smoke was seen billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
He is seen as a reformer in the mould of Pope Francis, who sent Cardinal Prevost to run the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014.
He ran that diocese until 2023, when Francis brought him to Rome to be head of the Vatican’s powerful Dicastery for Bishops, in charge of vetting nominations for senior clergy around the world.
Prevost was also president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a job that kept him in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in a region of the world that still counts the most Catholics.
A Vatican insider said: “He was not one of the obvious candidates, but he knows everybody, he spent 30 years as a missionary, he has languages.
Pope Leo XIV is expected to replace Pope Francis, who died on April 21, at the age of 88, after a long battle with illness.
The former Pope was known for his humility and his empathy for the poor. He also strongly advocated for peace and actively spoke against warring nations.
