(The Center Square) – The College of Cardinals elected a new pope Thursday, the first from America in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.
Robert Francis Prevost, native of Chicago with dual citizenship in Peru, was announced as the church’s 267th pontiff by Dominique Mamberti, the senior cardinal deacon. They appeared on the St. Peter’s balcony just after 7 p.m. local time overlooking St. Peter’s Square where crowds had gathered following the signal of white smoke from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney.
He took the name Pope Leo XIV.
Leo has been an archbishop in Peru. He was chosen in 2023 by Pope Francis to lead the office vetting bishop nominations.
The pope serves as the leader of the church for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. His selection came from 133 Cardinals in the papal conclave sequestered since Wednesday. His election was on the fourth vote.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope,” President Donald Trump said on Truth Social. “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
About 53 million Catholic adults live in the U.S., about 19% of the U.S. population. Catholics are the second-largest faith group in the U.S., a nation founded by protestants. Protestants, who are non-Catholic Christians, make up about 40% of the U.S. population, including Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Pentecostals, according to a 2025 Pew Research Center report.
Pope Francis died in April. He had served as pope since 2013, and his official cause of death was a cerebral stroke that led to a coma, though he has had ongoing health issues for months. The pope’s health had been waning over several years, and in the months before he passed, he was hospitalized for double pneumonia.
