Rome
CNN
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Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost – now known as Pope Leo XIV — is the first pope from the United States.

The 69-year-old from Chicago is known as a leader with global experience. He spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments.

His election represents continuity with the papacy of the late Pope Francis, and he is expected to continue Francis’ reforms of the church as well as his focus on poverty and marginalized people.

Here’s what else you should know about the new American pontiff:

Prevost was born in Chicago. But inside the Vatican, where he eventually lived and worked, he was considered the “least American” of the US cardinals.

He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023.

He speaks fluent Spanish and Italian – both of which he displayed during his first address to the public in St. Peter’s Square.

The late Pope Francis “respected him and thought of him very highly,” according to CNN’s Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb. “Clearly Pope Francis saw in him something – he saw him as a capable leader.”

Lamb met the new Pope Leo XIV when he was a cardinal and said he came across “a very thoughtful person, a very measured person.” Overall, he came across understated.

Pope Leo is a member of the Augustinian religious order, which is spread across the world. He led the order for more than a decade as its prior general.

The new pontiff used his first remarks to say he is a son of St. Augustine, and he quoted the saint’s famous phrase: “For you, I am a bishop, with you, after all, I am a Christian.” That reflects the idea that all the people in the church hierarchy – from leaders to everyday members – walk together.

Pope Francis appointed Prevost to be the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, which is in charge of assessing bishop candidates and making recommendations for new appointments.

He also served as the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

“From very young, he was appointed to leadership roles,” said Elise Allen, CNN’s Vatican analyst. “He’s seen as somebody who is calm and balanced, who is even-handed and who is very clear on what he thinks needs to be done … but he’s not overly forceful in trying to make that happen.”

“I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is,” Prevost said in an interview with Vatican News shortly after he moved into his leadership role in Rome.

He once said in an interview his time in Peru was the life experience that shaped him the most.

“He’s somebody that, even though he’s from the West, would be very attentive to the needs of a global church,” Allen said. “You’re talking about somebody who spent over half of his ecclesial career abroad as a missionary in Peru.”

Leo is a dual citizen of the United States and Peru. The American-born pontiff obtained Peruvian citizenship in August 2015, according to Peru’s National Migration Registry.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte called his election a “historic moment for Peru and the world.”

The last pope to take the name Leo, Pope Leo XIII, was a pope on the side of the poor and who stood up for workers.

Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878 to 1903, had a strong emphasis on workers’ rights and Catholic social doctrine – so the choice of that name for the new pontiff makes a strong statement.

He is in line with Francis on the direction of the church and on the process to foster a more inclusive global church, but he is expected to lead as his own man.

Leo is expected to lean more progressive on social issues like migration and poverty but fall more in line with moderates on moral issues of Catholic doctrine.

In order to a get a two-thirds majority in the College of Cardinals, he would have had to have had broad appeal, even among more moderate or conservative members.

Prevost earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and went on receive his diploma in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.

He was eventually sent to Rome to study canon law, and later in his career, he taught canon law in the seminary in Trujillo, Peru.

“I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player,” Prevost said in an interview with the Augustinian Order shortly after he became a cardinal. “Since leaving Peru I have had few occasions to practice, so I am looking forward to getting back on the court.”

He also said in his free time he liked reading, walking and travelling to “new and diverse places.”

CNN’s Christopher Lamb, Jimena de la Quintana, Abel Alvarado and Elise Hammond contributed to this report.

CNN
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Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States has been elected the 267th pope and has stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

He’s now known as Pope Leo XIV.

Prevost, 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is the first ever pope from the United States.

Cardinals took two days to select a new pontiff, matching the timeline from the previous two gatherings and suggesting that Prevost quickly impressed his peers during the secretive process.

Francis and Benedict XVI were both revealed in the evening of the conclave’s second day, while John Paul II, the longest-reigning pope of modern times, was selected on the third day in 1978.

A leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.

He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023.

Prevost is a member of the Augustinian religious order – which he also led for more than a decade as their prior general, which has given him leadership experience of leading an order spread across the world.

Considered a highly capable and accomplished leader, Prevost most recently led the powerful Vatican office for new bishop appointments, the Dicastery for Bishops, assessing candidates and making recommendations to the late pope. He also served as the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

While it is often said cardinal electors would always shy away from choosing a pope from the US, due to America’s outsized global political influence, Prevost’s long experience in Peru may have mitigated those fears among the electors.

“He’s somebody that, even though he’s from the West, would be very attentive to the needs of a global church,” said Elise Allen, CNN’s Vatican analyst. “You’re talking about somebody who spent over half of his ecclesial career abroad as a missionary in Peru.”

Allen added that he is seen as an apt leader in Vatican circles because “he’s able to accomplish things without necessarily being authoritarian about the way he did things.”

“Prevost is somebody who is seen as an exceptional leader. From very young, he was appointed to leadership roles,” Allen said. “He’s seen as somebody who is calm and balanced, who is even-handed, and who is very clear on what he thinks needs to be done… but he’s not overly forceful in trying to make that happen.”

Prevost earned his bachelor’s in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and went on receive his diploma in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.

He was later sent to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University and was ordained as a priest in June 1982. Later in his career, he taught canon law in the seminary in Trujillo, Peru.

In an interview with Vatican News shortly after he became the leader of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost said: “I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is.”

Asked about the contributions of three women who were made members of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost told Vatican News: “I think their appointment is more than just a gesture on the part of the Pope to say that there are now women here, too. There is a real, genuine, and meaningful participation that they offer at our meetings when we discuss the dossiers of candidates.”

He also addressed the responsibility of combating clerical abuse, saying: “There are places where good work has already been done for years and the rules are being put into practice. At the same time, I believe that there is still much to learn.”

This is a breaking story. More details soon…

We can’t see what’s going on in the chapel, but the voting procedure follows a centuries-old tradition.

Nine cardinals would have been chosen at random to perform specific roles:

In order of seniority, the cardinals will walk to the table in front of the altar, where the Scrutineers sit, to cast their ballot.

After all ballots are cast, the first Scrutineer shakes the urn to mix them up. The third Scrutineer counts the ballots. If the number of ballots doesn’t match the number of electors, the ballots are burned and the vote is redone.

If the number is correct, the first Scrutineer unfolds the ballot, notes the name and passes it to the second Scrutineer.

The second Scrutineer notes the name and passes the ballot to the third Scrutineer.

The last Scrutineer reads the name aloud for all the cardinals to hear and records the vote. As the name is read out, the Scrutineer threads a needle through the ballot with the word “Eligo” (“I elect”) and secures it to the other ballots.

After reading out all the names, the cardinals learn if they have elected a new pope. For each round, the sewn-together ballots are placed in a third urn for burning.

The color of the smoke from that fire tells the world when there is a new pope.