Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected as the 267th Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.
The American-born cardinal was chosen after four rounds of voting during the highly secretive conclave held inside the Sistine Chapel. He now assumes leadership of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, succeeding Pope Francis, who passed away on 21 April.
Before his election, Pope Leo XIV served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America since 2023. His earlier appointments include his tenure as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015 to 2023, and as prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013.
The conclave, which began Wednesday evening, brought together 133 cardinal electors under strict secrecy. Locked inside the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, they communicated progress through the centuries-old ritual of smoke signals—black for no decision, white for the successful election of a pope.
Now at the helm of a Church facing complex and urgent challenges, Pope Leo XIV inherits a global institution grappling with geopolitical instability, internal ideological divisions, and the lingering impact of clerical abuse scandals. In many parts of the West, he will also face the challenge of revitalizing a faith community amid declining church attendance.
As the world welcomes the new pontiff, all eyes turn to how he will steer the Church through this defining moment in its two-millennia history.