Vatican officials have announced that Chicago Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected as the new pope, marking a historic moment as the first American to hold the papacy. He will take the name Pope Leo XIV.
Born in Chicago and currently 69 years old, Pope Leo XIV is known as a close confidant of Pope Francis and has played a key role in the Curia in recent years. His election signals a continuation of many of Francis’s priorities, while also representing a significant geographic shift in the leadership of the Catholic Church.