Now we all know who the new pope is—tens of thousands of people are celebrating Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost (69), the new pope, in St. Peter’s Square. The first US pope in history!

After only one day of deliberation, a decision has been made in the Vatican: the Catholic Church has a new leader. On Thursday evening at around 6 p.m., white smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel – the traditional sign that the 133 cardinals eligible to vote had agreed on a new pope.

A huge cheer erupted among the 15,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Minutes later, the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out – another unmistakable signal: Habemus Papam followed.

An American – and he inspires with his first good, strong words

The name of the new pope is already known: it is US Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost (69).

Pope Leo XIV speaks to the gathered faithful for the first time from the balcony of St. Peter’s Square. “Peace be with you all,” he says in Latin. He sends a greeting of peace to “all peoples and the whole earth.” Leo XIV also commemorates his predecessor, Pope Francis.

Then came important, powerful words: “God loves us all unconditionally,” says the new pope. And he reminds the crowd of Francis, who gave his blessing to Rome and the world. Leo XIV wants to continue this blessing. Evil, he says, will never prevail.

“Together with God, we will move forward.” Humanity needs Christ to reach God. “Thank you, Pope Francis!”

Prevost’s election is seen as a compromise – and at the same time as a signal of unity. He combines American origins, Latin American influences and Roman leadership experience. This made him the consensus candidate of a college of cardinals that had to overcome cultural and ecclesiastical political differences.

Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955 to parents with French, Spanish, and Italian roots. He studied mathematics before joining the Augustinian order in 1977. He was ordained a priest in Rome in 1982. He later earned a doctorate in canon law there.

From the mid-1980s, Prevost worked as a missionary in Peru. There he founded parishes, ran a seminary, and was active in the formation of bishops. In 2015, Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Chiclayo, a diocese in the north of the country. During the country’s political crises, he worked to promote stability.

In 2023, he was promoted to head of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, the Vatican authority responsible for selecting bishops worldwide. He was made a cardinal in the same year. Despite this key role, Prevost is said to have remained reserved and shunned the media spotlight. In church circles, he is considered pragmatic and moderate, according to the newspaper La Repubblica, among others.

Image:
APA