Watch Live: American cardinal Robert Prévost chosen as new Pope, Leo XIV, by Catholic cardinals

Cardinals voters of the Catholic Church elected an American among their own ranks on Thursday to serve a new pope. The original Cardinal of Chicago, Robert Prevost, 69, was elected and accepted his fate as the next bishop of Rome, chief of the 1.4 billion Catholics of the world. PREVOST – The first Pope of the United States – chose Leo XIV as his papal name.

The identity of the new pontiff was revealed about an hour after the white smoke emerged from the chimney above the Vatican sixtine chapel, reporting that a new Pope was chosen with a decisive vote by the cardinal voters gathered for the Papal conclave. After about an hour, the declaration was made from the Balcony of the Saint-Pierre Basilica: “Habemus Papam”.

The crowd of Saint-Pierre broke out again in amazed applause when it had been announced that the Catholic Church, for the first time in its history, had chosen an American as chief.

Pope Leo XIV Soon he entered the balcony himself to say his first public remarks as a pontiff.

“Peace be with you,” he said, starting to speak to the masses gathered in Italian. “It is the face of Christ Risen, a disarming and humble face. A God who loves us all unconditionally. We confirm with our ears the weak, but always courageous voice of Pope Francis, who blesses Rome. The pope who blesses Rome gave us all. Hand in hand, as disciples of Christ.

Who is the new Pope?

The pope born in Chicago is also a national in Peru, where he worked for many years.

His most recent role was as chief of the church dicastery for the bishops, which means that he supervised the selection of new bishops.

Overall, he is considered a centrist, but on many social questions, he is considered progressive, embracing marginalized groups like Francis, who defended migrants and the poor. But Prevost opposes the ordinance of women as deacons, for example, he is therefore considered to be conservative on the doctrine of the Church.

Overall, Prevost is considered a centrist, but on many social problems, he is considered to be progressive, kissing marginalized groups like Francis, who defended migrants and the poor. Prévost opposes the ordinance of women as deacons, for example, he is therefore considered to be conservative on the doctrine of the Church.

How does the duration of conclave 2025 compare to past conclaves?

The conclave to choose a successor to Pope Francis started on Wednesday Afternoon, local time. The 133 cardinal voters participating in the process prayed together and made a secret wish before closing the doors and the first round of votes. As night fell, the black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, indicating that they did not yet agree on a choice.

Thursday morning, the cardinals resumed the process for day 2 And, once again, before lunch time in Rome, the black smoke did not report any decisive result of the round of two voices in the morning.

In recent history, the conclaves only tended to last a few days, and this year’s step followed.

Some conclaves passed, however, dragged much longer. The longest ever, in the 13th century, took almost three years to choose Pope Gregory X.

The shortest conclave ever recorded, in 1503, only took 10 hours to choose Pope Pius III.

How long was the conclave that elected Pope Francis?

The conclave that elected Pope Francis started on March 12, 2013 and it was announced as a pope the next day after five ballots.

The conclave which elected its predecessor, Pope Benoît XVI, began on April 18, 2005. Benedict was announced as a pope the next day after four ballots.

This is a story in development and will be updated.