VATICAN CITY: US Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected in a shock option to be the brand new chief of the Catholic Church on Thursday (Might 8), taking the identify Leo XIV, turning into the first pontiff from the US.
Pope Leo, appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica round 70 minutes after white smoke had billowed from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel signifying the 133 cardinal electors had chosen a brand new chief for the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.
“Peace be with you all,” the brand new pope informed the cheering crowd, talking in fluent Italian. He additionally spoke in Spanish throughout his transient handle however didn’t say something in English.
Aged 69 and initially from Chicago, Prevost has spent most of his profession as a missionary in Peru, and grew to become a cardinal solely in 2023. He has given few media interviews and barely speaks in public.
President Donald Trump swiftly congratulated Prevost on turning into the primary US pope. “What pleasure, and what a Nice Honor for our Nation. I look ahead to assembly Pope Leo XIV. It is going to be a really significant second!”
“HABEMUS PAPAM”
The selection of Prevost was introduced by French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti with the Latin phrases “Habemus Papam” (We’ve got a pope) to tens of hundreds of individuals gathered in St. Peter’s Sq. to listen to the information.
Pope Leo turns into the 267th Catholic pope after the death last month of Pope Francis, who was the primary Latin American pope and had led the Church for 12 years and extensively sought to open the staid establishment as much as the fashionable world.
Pope Francis enacted a variety of reforms and allowed debate on divisive points equivalent to ladies’s ordination and higher inclusion of LGBT Catholics.
Forward of the conclave, some cardinals referred to as for continuity with Francis’ imaginative and prescient of higher openness and reform, whereas others mentioned they wished to show again the clock and embrace previous traditions.
