Just one month after the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, passed away at the age of 88 after 12 years of service, the Papal Conclave concluded with the election of the first-ever United States-born pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost, who assumed the name Pope Leo XIV. The new pontiff, who is of Haitian and Creole ancestry, will become the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church, according to AL.com and NPR reports.
According to usccb.org, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Papal Conclave is a secret assembly of cardinals that cast ballots to elect a new pope. During the process, 133 cardinals cast votes until one candidate has 1/3 of the vote.
Starting on day two, cardinals vote up to four times a day in the Sistine Chapel. If no pope is elected by the fifth day, they take a break. Voting picks up again for seven more days, then another break if a new pope has not been elected. If 13 days go by without a pope, the conclave shifts to a runoff between the two leading candidates. After each vote, ballots are burned. Black smoke means no pope. White smoke means one’s been chosen. Once elected, the new pope is asked if he accepts and what name he’ll take. He changes from red to white robes and then steps out onto the balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica.
The newly elected Pope Leo was born in Chicago in 1955 and later studied at the Minor Seminary of Augustinian Fathers. He then went on to study at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he received a degree in mathematics. He finished his theological studies at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
After finishing his studies in the U.S., Pope Leo XIV received his doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Pope Leo XIV then went to Peru, where he served as a missionary for two decades. He was appointed as the Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru by Pope Francis in 2015, where he served until 2023, and then he went on to serve directly under Pope Francis at the Vatican.
The 69-year-old newly elected pope will be the leader and spokesperson for the 1.4 billion global Catholic population, according to the Vatican Publishing House Pontifical Yearbook 2025 and the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2023.
With the election of the first American pope has come much excitement and a hopeful outlook for the future of Catholicism. It is thought that Pope Leo XIV will continue the progressive ways of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who was known for challenging traditional boundaries of Catholicism, championing progressive ideas not typically associated with the Church.
Pope Leo has shown support for issues such as immigration and social justice. In fact, Leo chose to name himself after Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), who fought for the civil rights of the lower class and defended the rights of workers, particularly during the time of the Industrial Revolution.
The pope’s first official public appearance was on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, where he shared the words, “Peace be with all of you!”
