Robert Prevost, American cardinal with Peruvian nationality, is the new Pope of the Catholic Church with the name Leo XIV

The American cardinal Robert Prevost is the new Pope of the Catholic Church, under the name of Leo XIV.

The chimney of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican issued white smoke on Thursday afternoon and approximately one hour later Cardinal Dominique Mamberti announced the name of Francisco’s successor.

Pope Leo XIV, 69, went to the balcony and offered his first speech before the more than 40,000 people gathered in the Plaza de San Pedro.

“Dear brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the risen Christ. I would like to offer a peace greeting for your families, for all of you, wherever you are. That peace is with you,” he said in Italian.

Prevost paid tribute to Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at 88, affirming his desire to impart his blessing to the people as his predecessor did in his last appearance in the Plaza de San Pedro.

“Humanity needs Christ as a bridge to be achieved by God and his love. Help us, and help each other, to build bridges,” he proclaimed.

The new Pope changed from Italian to Spanish to thank his former diocese in Peru, “where a loyal people have shared their faith and has given much.”

His speech was received with frequent and warm applause, especially when he mentioned peace and the late Pope Francis.

Leo XIV also insisted on the need for unity and at the end of his speech he invited everyone to join in prayer.

Leo XIV is the first pontiff from North America and also the first with American or Peruvian citizenship.

Born in 1955 in the American city of Chicago, Prevost also has Peruvian nationality since 2015, since much of his religious life in the Andean country, where he was a bishop of Chiclayo until 2023.

During his years in Peru, he served as pastor, a seminary teacher, prefect of studies, ecclesiastical judge and member of the Advisory Council of the Diocese of Trujillo, in addition to leading the Augustinian Seminar in that city for a decade.

He joined the Peruvian Episcopal Conference (CEP) between 2018 and 2023, of which he was second vice president, and exercised as Apostolic Administrator of Callao between 2020 and 2021.

In 2014 he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo, a position in which he remained until his definitive transfer to the Vatican.

Pope Francis, who was very close, took him to Rome to direct the Dicasteria for bishops since 2023, one of the most influential offices of the curia, responsible for proposing episcopal appointments globally.

That same year he appointed him Cardinal and assigned the Roman Church of Santa Monica.

In February 2025 he was promoted to Cardinal-Obispo de Albano, one of the suburbicaries of Rome, reserved for the highest rank members of the Cardinal College.

He was also president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

The Reverend Mark Francis, a friend of Premost since the 1970s, told Reuters that the cardinal was a firm defender of the papacy of his predecessor, and especially the commitment of the late Pontiff with social justice.

“He was always kind and warm, and remained a voice of common sense and practical concern for the work of the Church in favor of the poor,” said Francis, who attended the seminar with Prevost and subsequently met him when they both lived in Rome in the 2000s.

“He had an ironic sense of humor, but he did not seek to be the center of attention,” added Francis, who presides over the American province of the Viatorian religious order.

Jesús León Ángeles, coordinator of a Catholic group in Chiclayo who knows Prevost since 2018, described him as a “very simple” person who dressed for helping others.

León Ángeles stressed that Prevost showed special concern for Venezuelan migrants in Peru.

The president of the USA, Donald Trump, congratulated the new Pope on his Truth Social platform.

“It is a great honor to know that it is the first American Pope. What emotion and what a great honor for our country! I hope to meet Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very significant moment!”

For her part, the president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, described the election of the first Pope with Peruvian nationality as “a historical moment for Peru and the world.”

Boluarte said the new Pope was “Peruvian citizen by choice and heart.”

“He chose to be one of us, live among us and carry in his heart the faith and culture of this nation,” he said.

After leaving the white smoke and lightering the bells, the faithful in the Plaza de San Pedro in the Vatican exploded in applause and cheers.

“We thought it would be gray smoking and, when the white smoke was seen, a strong scream was heard, people began to hug, some even cried and started running to approach the balcony where the new Pope is expected to be presented,” describes Alicia Hernández, special envoy from BBC Mundo to Rome, from the square.

Many of the congregated there embraced and waved flags from different countries of the world.

A music band made way touching a melody between the crowd, while the Swiss guards parade with their blue and yellow stripes paraded.

A couple of Greece told the BBC that it is a “unique experience in life”, while waiting for the new Pope to appear on the balcony.

A total of 133 Cardinals, all with less than 80 years of age, gathered in the city of the Vatican, an independent state in the heart of Rome, to choose the 267th Pope.

To choose the new Pontiff, the different groups of cardinals – each one with their particular interests – had to form alliances and agreements throughout the process, called conclave.

For the first time they were part of the Cardinals Cardinals of places in “La Periferia”, as Francisco called them, so representatives of places like Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, China and Rwanda voted.

Two thirds of the voters must agree on the same name for the Pope to be chosen.

After the decision, the White Smoke (White Smoke) comes out in the chimney of the Sistine Chapel to announce that there is a new potato and is asked if you accept the position and name you want to adopt.

This time the cardinals have made the decision in a single day and after only four rounds of voting, which is considered rapid relativamant compared to previous occasions.

“It is a clear sign of the unity of the Church,” said Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi in the Vatican press room.

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