U.S. leaders on Thursday celebrated after an American pope was elected for the first time in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.
White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel shortly after 6 p.m. local time, signaling a new pontiff had been chosen after just two days of conclave deliberations.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, emerged on the balcony to greet the large crowds in the Vatican City in his first public appearance as the Catholic Church’s new leader.
The new pope chose the name Leo XIV.
The Chicago-born cardinal spent many years serving as a missionary in Peru. In 2023, Pope Francis brought Prevost to the Vatican to lead the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world, a role considered one of the most powerful positions in the Catholic Church. That prominence gave Prevost an advantage over other papal candidates going into the conclave….