Catholic Church chooses first-ever American as new Pope

The Catholic Church has elected its first American pope, the Peru-based Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, who has taken the name Pope Leo XIV.

The 69-year-old strode out onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica about 7.24pm (3.24am) on Thursday, a little more than an hour after white smoke rose from the world’s most-watched chimney, signifying the 133 cardinals inside had chosen a replacement for Pope Francis.

Pope Leo smiled broadly and waved his arms as he greeted his flock for the first time as their leader.

He repeatedly clasped his hands, nodded and made a prayer gesture as waves of adoration ricocheted up from the tens of thousands of Catholics gathered in St Peter’s Square.
The first words out of his mouth were “la pace sia con tutti voi” ? “peace be with you” ? as he read a speech in Italian, offering a message of peace and dialogue “without fear”.
From the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica, history’s first American pope said he was an Augustinian priest, but above all a Christian and a bishop, “So we can all walk together”.

“We must build bridges. Build bridges with dialogue, coming together, uniting, becoming one single people, one single people in peace” Leo said, echoing Francis’ blessing from Easter Sunday.

The idea of an American pope had long been taboo, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the US.

But Leo has extensive experience in Peru, first as a missionary and then an archbishop.

Towards the end of his speech he switched to Spanish, recalling his many years spent as a missionary and then archbishop of Chiclayo.

He was the prefect of the Vatican’s powerful dicastery for bishops, in charge of vetting nominations for bishops around the world, and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Pope Francis had an eye on him for years, sending him to run the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014, a position he held until 2023 when Francis brought him to Rome.

US President Donald Trump, who just days ago provoked the ire of Catholics around the world by posting an AI-generated image of himself as the pope, was quick to congratulate Leo.

“It is such an honour to realise that he is the first American Pope,” he said, on Truth Social.
“What excitement, and what a Great Honour for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

The highest-ranking members of the Catholic Church had been sequestered away in the Vatican City since Wednesday afternoon in a centuries-old tradition.

They gathered for a fourth vote after lunch on Thursday and just after 6pm (2am Friday AEST), the thousands of faithful waiting in St Peter’s Square and 1.4 billion Catholics around the world got the smoke signal they were waiting for.

Cheers and applause echoed around the square as the white fumes poured out of a skinny and otherwise unremarkable chimney on top of the chapel.

Bells rang out, flags waved and the bright sun beamed down onto the large crowd.

It meant at least two-thirds of the conclave, or 89 cardinals, had reached agreement on who would replace Francis.

As the crowd waited, the Swiss Guards marched out and a military band played, marching up the steps to the basilica.

The name will be announced later, when a top cardinal utters the words “Habemus Papam!” ? Latin for “We have a pope!” ? from the loggia of the basilica. The cardinal then reads the winner’s birth name in Latin and reveals the name he has chosen to be called.
The new pope is then expected to make his first public appearance and impart a blessing from the same loggia.

The cardinals returned to the Sistine Chapel on Thursday to resume voting for a new pope and crowds flocked back to St Peter’s Square to await their decision, after the first conclave ballot failed to find a winner during a longer-than-expected voting session on Wednesday afternoon.

They were sequestered from the outside world, their mobile phones surrendered and airwaves around the Vatican jammed to prevent all communications until they find a new pope.

Francis named 108 of the 133 “princes of the church”, choosing many pastors in his image from far-flung countries like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before.

His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors both lengthened the amount of time it took for each vote to be processed and injected more uncertainty into a process that is always full of mystery and suspense.

Some of the 133 voting cardinals had said they expected a short conclave to replace Pope Francis and elect the person who will become the 267th pope. (Nine News)