In the late afternoon of 8 May, an eagerly awaited white smoke, the third since the beginning of the Conclave, announced to the world the election of the new Pope and Bishop of Rome.
About 150,000 people in Saint Peter's Square welcomed with emotion and enthusiasm the ‘Habemus Papam’ announcement by Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti and the first appearance from the Loggia of Blessings of Robert Francis Prevost, with the name Leo XIV.
Born in Chicago on 14 September 1955, Leo XIV is the 267th pontiff and the first North American one in the history of the Catholic Church. An Augustinian with a long history as a missionary in Peru, he was appointed by Pope Francis as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America in January 2023 and Cardinal of the Diaconate of Santa Monica in September of the same year.
After the passing of the beloved Pope Francis, the crowd in the square, the heart of world Christianity, greeted with great joy and applause the visibly emotional Pope, whose first words to the people were ‘Peace be with all of you’, wishing for a ‘’disarmed, disarming, humble and persevering' peace and the building of bridges through dialogue and encounter, remembering and thanking his predecessor and granting a plenary indulgence.
Photo Pope Leo XIV © Vatican Media
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