By Agunwa Myke
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States has been elected the 267th pope and new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
Prevost, 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is the first ever pope from the United States. He will be known as Leo XIV.
A leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed Bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023. Prevost also holds a Peruvian passport and has been a Peruvian citizen since 2015.
Born in Chicago, he is a member of the Augustinian religious order where he became the global superior – and spent many years working in Peru. He was later Bishop of Chicalayo, Peru, before being chosen by Francis to lead the Vatican’s bishop office. While it is often said cardinal electors would always shy away from choosing a pope from the US due to America’s global political influence, Prevost’s long experience in Peru may help mitigate that.
In an interview with Vatican News shortly after he became the leader of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost said: “I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is.”
The sudden emergence of white smoke at the Sistine chapel on Thursday evening was an indication that a new pope has been elected.
“White smoke! The 133 Cardinal electors gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have elected the new Pope. He will appear soon at the central window of St. Peter’s Basilica” Vatican confirmed on its X handle.
The election of the pope was done through a secret vote, and after he was elected by two third majority, he will state his papal name before moving to the Room of Tears where he receives his papal robes. This is expected to take between 30 minutes and an hour.
He will then introduce himself to the faithful waiting in St Peter’s square.
The pope, who will be the 267th, will take immediate charge of the Vatican, leading the Catholic Church and holding authority over its 1.4 billion followers.
