Pope Leo XIV: Robert Prevost Becomes First U.S. Pontiff

VATICAN CITY (VDN) — For the first time in history, an American has been elected pope. Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago was chosen by the Conclave on Thursday to lead the Roman Catholic Church and will take the name Pope Leo XIV.

Robert Cardinal Prevost is originally from Chicago, Illinois and served as the head of the church’s Dicastery for Bishops, according to CBS news.

Roman Catholic Cardinals sent up white smoke around 11 a.m. local time on Thursday, the second day of the Conclave. In further confirmation that a Pope has been chosen, the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out. White smoke indicates the 133 assembled Cardinals have a 2/3 majority agreement on who will fill the papal seat. The white smoke was met with loud cheers from the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Pope Francis, the first non-European pontiff in more than a millennium, died April 21, 2025 at the age of 88. Francis was elected pope on March 13, 2013, and was the first pontiff from the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuit order, the first from the Americas, and the first born outside Europe since Pope Gregory III of Syria in the eighth century.