Watch Live: American Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was selected as the new Pope Leo XIV by Catholic cardinals

The cardinal voters of the Catholic Church chose an American on Thursday to act as a new Pope. Chicago born Cardinal Robert Prevost69, was elected and accepted his fate as the next Bishop of Rome, leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world. Prevost – the first Pope from the United States – chose Leo XIV as his papal name.

The identity of the new Pope was revealed about an hour after the expression of a white smoke above the Sistine chapel in the Vatican, which signaled that a new Pope had been selected with a decisive coordination by the cardinal voter that was for the gathered papal conclave.

After the white smoke brought a first cheer, the crowd on St. Peter's Square broke out again on applause when it became known that the Catholic Church has a guide from the USA for the first time in its history

Pope Leo XIV The balcony soon appeared to make its first public comments as a Pope.

“Peace be with you,” he said when he spoke to the assembled masses in Italian. “This has risen the face of Christ, a disarming and modest face. A god who loves us all unconditionally. With our ears, we confirm the weak but always courageous voice of the Pope Francis, who blessed Rome that the Pope, who has the Pope the Pope, has a hand in hand, as the disciples of Christ.

Who is the new Pope?

The Pope born in Chicago is also a citizen of Peru, where he worked for many years. He was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis in September 2023.

His most recent role was the head of the Church of the Church for Bishops, which means that he supervised the selection of new bishops.

Overall, he is considered a centerist, but in many social questions he is considered progressive and includes marginalized groups such as Francis, who campaigned for migrants and the arms. But Prevost, for example, rejects the determination of women as deacons, so that he is considered conservative in church apprenticeship.

How is the duration of the 2025 conclave compared to previous conclaves?

The conclave to choose a successor to Pope Francis started on Wednesday Afternoon, local time. The 133 cardinal voters prayed together and prayed together and rejected a vault of confidentiality before the doors closed and the first round of votes were given. When the night fell, black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, which points out that they had not yet agreed on one choice.

On Thursday morning, the cardinals resumed the process for day 2 And again, before the lunch break in Rome, Black Smoke did not signal a decisive result from the morning round of two voices. The white smoke came after a further coordination on Thursday afternoon, the local time – less than 24 hours after the conclave began.

In recent history, the complies only lasted a few days, and this year's year followed the example.

However, some past implies continued much longer. The longest of all time in the 13th century lasted almost three years to Pope Gregor X.

The shortest conclave in 1503 only took 10 hours to choose Pope Pius III.

How long was the conclave that was elected Francis election?

The chosen conclave Pope Francis started on March 12, 2013 and was announced as Pope the next day after five ballot papers.

The conclave, which had chosen his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, began on April 18, 2005. Benedikt was announced as Pope the next day after four ballot papers.