CNN
 — 

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.

CNN
 — 

Britain’s King Charles and heir to the throne Prince William laid wreaths in Westminster Abbey on Thursday at the culmination of the country’s four days of commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

The thanksgiving service in the Abbey began with a two-minute silence, which was also observed across the country, to remember Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender, which took effect on May 8, 1945.

Charles and William, military medals pinned on their chest and standing beside elderly veterans in wheelchairs, laid wreaths at the the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, in a show of respect for those who gave their lives in World War Two.

The anniversary, which comes at a time of ongoing conflict in Europe with Russia’s war in Ukraine, was also marked with events in France and Germany, while Moscow will hold a major military parade on Friday.

Speaking at a defense conference in London on Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the day a celebration of defiance, sacrifice and courage.

“A victory not just for Britain but for good against the assembled forces of hatred, tyranny and evil,” he said.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of the “sacred” victory over Adolf Hitler, and said his country was standing against “neo-Nazism,” a characterisation of the current conflict in Ukraine that is strongly rejected by Kyiv.

Putin was holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is joining Russia’s celebrations.

French President Emmanuel Macron was due to lay a wreath at the statue of French wartime hero Charles de Gaulle in Paris and inspect a troop parade at the Arc de Triomphe. Dozens of World War Two-era vehicles will also parade down the Champs-Elysees avenue.

In Berlin, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will address the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany’s parliament,during a special remembrance session.

VE Day’s 80th anniversary will be one of the last major celebrations with living veterans attending events, as most are now in their 90s or older.

British veterans were among the congregation at Westminster Abbey in London. They will be greeted by Charles and his wife Queen Camilla after the service, before senior royals also lay flowers at a memorial nearby.

Veterans also attended a grand military parade and flypast close to Buckingham Palace on Monday, one of a series of anniversary events, in what has been a busy few days for Charles.

The monarch, 76, was last year diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer and is still undergoing treatment.

Later on Thursday there will be a concert at Horse Guards Parade for 10,000 people. Charles and Camilla will be in the audience to hear music and the stories of veterans.