The new pope appeared before a crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square in Rome on 8 May – Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected.
“Cardinals gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name Pope Leo XIV, as the 267 – m Pope,” Vatikan News reported.
Prevost was born in the US city of Chicago in 1955. He was ordained a priest in 1982 and was made a cardinal in 2023. Since 2023, he has served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Earlier on 8 May, white smoke came from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel – the conclave elected a new pope at the fourth attempt.
Pope Francis was buried on 26 April in Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. He died on 21 April at the age of 88 after suffering a stroke.
