Conclave Picks Robert Prevost, Who Will Be Pope Leo

“Habemus Papam.” We Have a Pope.

After days of feverish speculation American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was announced as the 267th leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. 

“Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam [I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope,” said French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti as he introduced the man who will take over from the beloved Pope Francis, who died on April 21. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

“He will take the name Leo the 14th” he said in Latin to rapturous cheers from crowds that had been gathering in St. Peter’s Square since white smoke poured from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, where the election took place, a little more than an hour before.

The newly anointed Pope Leo XIV came to the balcony clad in a white cassock topped by a red cape trimmed in ermine, and draped in a gold embroidered sash. He clasped his hands in prayer, and smiled as the crowds chanted his name, and “Viva La Papa!”

“May peace be with all of you,” he said in accented Italian. “To all people, wherever they are, to all the people of the earth, may peace be with you.”

He spoke briefly of his predecessor, saying “May we all build bridges with dialogue, thank you Pope Francis.” He thanked his fellow cardinals then briefly switched to Spanish, to thank his diocese in Peru, where he served for several decades. He concluded with his first “Urbi et Orbi” blessing, a formal address to the city of Rome and to the world, indicating the beginning of his papacy. 

At the conclusion of the prayer, the crowd packed into St. Peter’s square waved flags from scores of countries, including a few American ones. It was a microcosm of the 1.4 billion catholics around the world that have been waiting more than a week for this moment.

Leo will be the first American pope the church has ever seen, and only the second pope from the new world, after Francis who was from Argentina.

This is a developing story.