Catholic Cardinals Select American to be Pope

The conclave of the College of Cardinals has elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV. Cardinal Prevost was born in the U.S. He was chosen from a shortlist of candidates that represented Catholics from around the globe.

The new pontiff will succeed Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at age 88 and was himself elected following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 due to frail health. The news broke on Thursday evening in Rome, when white smoke was spotted rising above the Sistine Chapel, the traditional way of signaling the election of a new pope.

The pope was chosen on the second day of voting. The selection process took about the same length of time as the conclave in 2013, which also lasted two days.

The new pontiff will assume leadership over more than 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. He will also preside over a church that is the largest nongovernmental provider of health care in the world, managing a quarter of the world’s health care facilities. Additionally, he will have influence over dozens of Catholic universities and countless other Catholic schools.

The profile of American Catholics has risen in particular in recent years with the election in November of Catholic convert JD Vance as vice president and the creation of a Catholic majority of justices on the Supreme Court.

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