Cardinal Robert Prevost, a little known missionary from Chicago, was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday (May 8), becoming the first US pope and taking the name Leo XIV.
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00:00This is the man who now leads the 1.4 billion member Catholic Church.
00:09Cardinal Robert Prevost stepped out onto the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday as Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the United States.
00:19Peace be with you all, he said in his first comments to the thousands gathered below.
00:30To all of you brothers and sisters of Rome, of Italy, of all over the world, we want to be a synodal church, a church that walks, a church that always looks for peace, always looks for charity, always looks to be close, especially to those who suffer.
00:53Prevost was elected in a surprise choice as the 267th Catholic Pope.
01:00Originally from Chicago, the 69-year-old spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and has dual Peruvian nationality.
01:08He became a cardinal only in 2023, the year the late Pope Francis brought him to Rome and put him in charge of choosing which priests should serve as bishops.
01:18It was an emotional moment for many in the crowd at the Vatican, especially Americans.
01:27I hope he's able to pull the whole world together, something that we haven't done so well recently as Americans.
01:34I am just very thrilled. I hope it brings more Catholics to America, and I hope it also, I hope America doesn't embarrass the new Pope.
01:44U.S. President Donald Trump was among the world leaders who sent their congratulations.
01:50What greater honor could there be that we were a little bit surprised, but very happy.
01:57It was just a great, absolutely great honor.
01:59White smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel on just the second day of the conclave, signaling that the 133 cardinal electors had chosen a new leader.
02:12Prevost had not been seen as a front-runner, and there was a brief moment of silence when his name was announced.
02:18Cardinal Emma Prevost.
02:20A little over an hour later, Pope Leo stepped out onto the balcony.
02:28During his speech, he thanked the late Pope Francis.
02:31Papa Francesco.
02:33And repeated his predecessor's call for a church that is engaged with the modern world.
02:38The last Pope to take the name Leo led the church from 1878 to 1903, and was known for his devoted focus to social justice issues, and is often credited with laying the foundation for modern Catholic social teaching.