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(VATICAN CITY) -- The Catholic Church has a new pope.

American Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected the 267th pontiff. He has chosen the name Leo XIV, a senior cardinal deacon announced.

The 69-year-old Chicago native is the first American pope and is seen as a diplomat in the church.

Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, the 133 cardinals -- the church's highest-ranking clergy -- gathered to elect a new pope for the Catholic Church in the secret conclave in Rome.

On Thursday afternoon local time, white smoke billowed from the stovetop chimney atop the Sistine Chapel and the bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang out, signifying the cardinals had elected a new pope. The cardinals cast at least four ballots at the Vatican before a cardinal received at least two-thirds of the vote.

Over an hour after the white smoke emerged, the new pope, clad in his papal vestments, stepped out onto the balcony and greeted the world. Pope Leo delivered his first Apostolic Urbi et Orbi blessing -- meaning to "the city and the world."

His full authority and jurisdiction begins immediately upon his acceptance of the office, prior to the public announcement.

Significance of papal name

Leo is the fifth-most-popular name chosen by popes.

Leo XIII was a founding figure of the Catholic social justice tradition.

While popes aren't obliged to change their name, every pontiff for the past 470 years has done so, usually choosing the name of a predecessor to both honor them and signal their intention to emulate his example. Pope Francis was a notable exception, choosing not the name of a former pope but that of St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century cleric and patron saint of animals and the environment.

Seen as front-runner

Pope Leo started to emerge as a front-runner for the papacy in the days before the conclave began, according to Father James Martin, a papal contributor to ABC News.

He was the only U.S. cardinal on a short list of front-runners for pope, also known as "papabiles," compiled in the aftermath of Pope Francis' death by The Associated Press.

He received priestly ordination on June 19, 1982, after studying canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University, according to his bio on the Vatican Press website.

Francis brought Pope Leo to work at the Vatican after first appointing him in 2014 to serve as the bishop of Chiclayo, Peru. He has spent a majority of his time in Peru, where he has also worked as a teacher, missionary and parish priest.

In April 2020, Francis appointed him to be the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Callao, also in Peru, his profile said.

Since 2023, he has held the position at the Vatican as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, in charge of vetting nominations for bishops around the world.

Pope Leo told Vatican News in October 2024 that a "bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom, but rather called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them and to suffer with them."

He also currently serves as the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

In a 2023 interview with the Catholic News Service, he was asked how he responds to problems with bishops or dioceses -- to which he said he reminds clergymen to reflect on their oath to "live and work in communion with the Holy Father."

"The spirit of synodality includes a need and desire to listen to not only the bishop himself, but to many people in the diocese to see what's the best way to promote authentic church in each and every diocese in the world," he said at the time.

 

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VATICAN CITY (AP) — White smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the great bells of St. Peter’s Basilica tolled Thursday after cardinals elected the 267th pope to lead the Catholic Church on the second day of their conclave.

The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers, priests made the sign of the cross and nuns wept as the crowd shouted “Viva il papa!” after the white smoke wafted into the late afternoon sky at 6:07 p.m. Waving flags from around the world, tens of thousands of people waited to learn who had won.

The smoke signal means the winner secured at least 89 votes of the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

The name will be announced later, when a top cardinal utters the words “Habemus Papam!” — Latin for “We have a pope!” — from the loggia of the basilica. The cardinal then reads the winner’s birth name in Latin and reveals the name he has chosen to be called.

The new pope is then expected to make his first public appearance and impart a blessing from the same loggia.
Eyes on the chimney

On Thursday, large school groups joined the mix of humanity awaiting the outcome in St. Peter’s Square. They blended in with people participating in preplanned Holy Year pilgrimages and journalists from around the world who have descended on Rome to document the election.

“The wait is marvelous!” said Priscilla Parlante, a Roman.

“We are hoping for the white smoke tonight,” said Pedro Deget, 22, a finance student from Argentina. He said he and his family visited Rome during the Argentine pope’s pontificate and were hoping for a new pope in Francis’ image.

“Francis did well in opening the church to the outside world, but on other fronts maybe he didn’t do enough. We’ll see if the next one will be able to do more,” Deget said from the piazza.

The Rev. Jan Dominik Bogataj, a Slovene Franciscan friar, was more critical of Francis. He said if he were in the Sistine Chapel, he’d be voting for Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem who is on many papal contender lists.

“He has clear ideas, not much ideology. He’s a direct, intelligent and respectful man,” Bogataj said from the square. “Most of all, he’s agile.”
A long wait on the first ballot

On Wednesday night, the black smoke of the first ballot poured out of the chapel chimney just after 9 p.m., about 4.5 hours after the cardinals filed into the Sistine Chapel to take their oaths at the start of the conclave.

The late hour prompted speculation about what took so long: Did they have to redo the vote? Did someone get sick or need translation help? Did the papal preacher take a long time to deliver his meditation before the voting began?

“They probably need more time,” said Costanza Ranaldi, a 63-year-old who traveled from Pescara in Italy’s Abruzzo region to the Vatican.

Some of the cardinals had said they expected a short conclave. But if recent history is any guide, it will likely take a few rounds of voting to settle on the 267th pope.

For much of the past century, the conclave has needed between three and 14 ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days in 1978 — was elected on the fourth ballot. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.
Conjecture on contenders

The cardinals opened the secretive, centuries-old ritual Wednesday afternoon, participating in a rite more theatrical than even Hollywood could create. Bright red cassocks, Swiss Guards standing at attention, ancient Latin chants and oaths preceded the slamming shut of the Sistine Chapel doors to seal the cardinals off from the outside world.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the 70-year-old secretary of state under Francis and a leading contender to succeed him as pope, assumed leadership of the proceedings as the most senior cardinal under age 80 eligible to participate.

Parolin seemed to have received the blessings from none other than Re, the respected elder among the cardinals. During the traditional exchange of peace during the pre-conclave Mass on Wednesday, Re was caught on a hot mic telling Parolin “auguri doppio” or “double best wishes.” Italians debated whether it was just a customary gesture acknowledging Parolin’s role running conclave, or if it might have been an informal endorsement or even a premature congratulations.
The voting process

The voting follows a strict choreography, dictated by church law.

Each cardinal writes his choice on a piece of paper inscribed with the words “Eligo in summen pontificem” — “I elect as supreme pontiff.” They approach the altar one by one and say: “I call as my witness, Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.”

The folded ballot is placed on a round plate and tipped into a silver and gold urn. Once cast, the ballots are opened one by one by three different “scrutineers,” cardinals selected at random who write down the names and read them aloud.

The scrutineers, whose work is checked by other cardinals called revisers, then add up the results of each round of balloting and write them on a separate sheet of paper, which is preserved in the papal archives.

As the scrutineer reads out each name, he pierces each ballot with a needle through the word “Eligo.” All the ballots are then bound together with thread, and the bundle is put aside and burned in the chapel stove along with a chemical to produce the smoke.

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Giada Zampano, Helena Alves and Vanessa Gera contributed to this report.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

(VATICAN CITY) -- Pope Francis has been laid to rest, the conclave has been assembled and, after due deliberation by the participating cardinals, the world at last has seen white smoke wafting from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling that a new pope has been elected.

So, what happens next?

There have been just seven papal elections in the last 100 years, with more than a quarter-century passing between the election of Pope John Paul II in October 1978 and that of his successor, Benedict XVI, in April 2005. And now as then, longstanding tradition dictates both the practical and ceremonial steps that occur between the new pontiff's election and when he is officially installed as the leader of the world Catholic Church.

While it can take days, weeks or longer for the cardinals comprising the conclave to reach the two-thirds majority required to elect a new pope – the record is 1,006 days, set in the 13th century – once the election is over, the subsequent events transpire with impressive speed.

Countdown to first public appearance

The first announcement to the world that a new pope has been selected is signaled per tradition by ringing the bells as St. Peter's Basilica as white smoke – fumata bianca – issues from the stovepipe chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. With those ceremonial notices, an informal countdown begins to the moment that the new pope's identity is revealed to the world.

While the faithful typically congregate in St. Peter's Square daily during the conclave, the public signal that a pontiff has been chosen precipitates a surge of observers rushing to be among the first to see the new pope in person.

Although much ceremony remains, it's important to note that the newly elected pope's full authority and jurisdiction begins immediately upon his acceptance of the office, which he of course must do before any public announcement – if he refuses the office, the conclave continues the balloting.

As soon as the new pontiff has assented to his election the conclave ends, though the assembled cardinals will remain at the Vatican until the attendant ceremonies are over. In 2013, Francis requested that the cardinals remain in Rome for an extra day to pray with him.

Meanwhile, the new pope is formally asked by what name he will be known. While popes aren't obliged to change their name, every pontiff for the past 470 years has done so, usually choosing the name of a predecessor to both honor them and signal their intention to emulate his example. Pope Francis was a notable exception, choosing not the name of a former pope but that of St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century cleric and patron saint of animals and the environment.

The only pontifical name that hasn't been used more than once is Peter, the name of the first pope, though there's no prohibition against doing so.

Papal clothing for his first appearance

The next step is to get the new pope attired for his first public appearance. The liturgical garments – such as robes, stoles and hats – worn by the pope and other Christian church officials are known as vestments. Since 1798, the pope's vestments have been manufactured by the Gammarelli family tailors in Rome, who first made the garments for Pope Pius VI. This year, however, ecclesiastical tailor Ranieri Manchinelli, also in Rome, has prepared the new pope's vestments.

Since no one knows who will be elected pope – and therefore, what size clothing the new pope will require – three sets of vestments are prepared ahead of time for his first public appearance, in sizes small, medium and large.

The vestments are placed in the Stanza delle Lacrime, or Room of Tears, which is a small sacristy, or clergy preparation area, just off the Sistine Chapel. It's here that the new pope will dress in his temporary vestments as the world awaits his first public appearance. However, there's still a final bit of ceremony to complete.

The Fisherman's Ring

Once attired in his vestments, the pontiff returns to the Sistine Chapel and sits on a papal chair. The camerlengo – that is, the cardinal who oversees the conclave, in this case Cardinal Kevin Ferrell – then escorts the master of ceremonies who bears the Fisherman's Ring on a velvet cushion to the new pope. Pope Francis' ring was ceremonially broken after his death – a ritual signifying the formal end of his papal authority and marking the transition of leadership and the close of his chapter in Church history.

Perhaps more than any other item, the Fisherman's Ring in popular culture is most closely identified with papal authority. So named in honor of St. Peter the Apostle, a fisherman and the first pope, Catholics who meet the pope traditionally kiss the ring to demonstrate both their respect for the pontiff and their devotion to the Church.

The camerlengo places the Fisherman's Ring on the fourth finger of the pope's right hand, then kneels and kisses it. The pope then removes the ring and gives it to the master of ceremonies, who will have the new pope’s name inscribed on it.

The assembled cardinals next step up in turn and pay homage to the new pope, who leads them in a hymn and also gives them his benediction – the first blessing of his pontificate.

'Habemus papam'

Now fittingly attired in his temporary vestments, the new pope enters St. Peter's Basilica for the formal announcement of his election and the revelation of his identity to the faithful and the world.

With thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square below, the attendant cardinals first emerge onto the side balconies of the St. Peter's Basilica facade. The senior cardinal deacon then appears on the central balcony and declares in Latin: "Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus papam" – "I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope."

The senior cardinal deacon then announces both the birth name of the elected cardinal, and the pontifical name the new pope has chosen for himself.

It is only now – typically a mere hour or so after the white smoke first emerged from the stovepipe chimney of the Sistine Chapel – that the new pope, clad in his papal vestments, steps out onto the balcony and greets the world. He immediately delivers his first Apostolic Urbi et Orbi blessing – meaning to "the city and the world."

Formal installation in office

A ceremonial mass to formally install the new pope is held about a week after his election, either in St. Peter’s Square or basilica, with cardinals, bishops and other international dignitaries present. While the ceremony historically featured far more pomp and pageantry akin to a coronation – including the pope being literally crowned with a triregnum, or three-tiered tiara, and sitting on an ornate papal throne – much of that pageantry has been abandoned.

Pope Paul VI was the last to wear the triregnum, during his installation in 1963. He also was the first to hold the ceremony outdoors, in St. Peter's Square, to accommodate the enormous crowds that wished to attend.

ABC News' Phoebe Natanson contributed to this report.

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