BREAKING: Cardinals elect American as 267th Pope of Catholic Church

BREAKING: Cardinals elect American as 267th Pope of Catholic Church

Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected as the new Pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV and becoming the first American to hold the papacy.

Earlier, white smoke rising from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel signaled that a new pontiff had been chosen, indicating that one of the candidates had secured the required two-thirds majority vote.

Pope Leo XIV succeeds the late Pope Francis, who passed away last month at the age of 88.

Following his introduction to the public, the new Pope delivered a brief address from the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, offering a blessing and invoking God’s grace upon the faithful gathered below.