First U.S. pope named, Cardinal Robert Prevost

The first U.S. pope was named on Thursday, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago, who will be called Pope Leo XIV.

Prevost, 69, was elected the 267th pope, CNN reported.

“Peace be with you all,” Prevost said in Italian in his first greeting in St. Peter’s Square.

“This is the first greetings of the resurrected Christ, the good shepherd who has given up his life for God,” he said, explaining the choice of his greeting. “And I should also like this greeting of peace to enter our hearts and our families.”

Prevost has spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms. He worked in Trujillo, Peru, for a decade and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023.

White smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney at the Vatican on Thursday, signaling the Catholic Church has selected a new pope.

The smoke, then bells ringing in St. Peter's Square signified the winner secured at least 89 votes of the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis, according to the Associated Press.

 The square's crowd erupted in cheers upon seeing the smoke and hearing the bells. 

The name of new pope will be announced later, when a top cardinal utters the words “Habemus papam!” Latin for “We have a pope!” from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, the wire service also reports. 

The new pope is then expected to make his first public appearance at some point Thursday.