Habemus Papam! The world welcomes Pope Leo XIV

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected on May 8, 2025, as the 267th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.  

White smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 6:09 p.m. Rome time, signaling that the College of Cardinals had chosen a successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21. 

Thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers as the bells of the basilica began to toll, confirming the election of a new pontiff. The crowds gathered as word spread throughout Rome that a new pope had been chosen.  

The new pontiff appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at approximately 7:25 p.m. local time, where Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, the protodeacon of the College of Cardinals and prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, announced in Latin: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!” (“I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope!”)  

Before appearing on the balcony, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV spent time in the “Room of Tears,” a small chamber adjacent to the Sistine Chapel. This traditionally named room is where new pontiffs first don the papal vestments and have a moment of private prayer and reflection as they absorb the magnitude of their election to the Chair of St. Peter. 

Following the announcement, Leo XIV addressed the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square and those watching around the world, offering his first blessing “urbi et orbi” (“to the city and the world”) as the new Roman pontiff. 

Who is Pope Leo XIV? A bio of the first American pope

An Augustinian and a canon lawyer, Prevost spent over a decade ministering in South America before being called back to the U.S. to head the Midwest Augustinians and was later elected prior general of the Augustinian order, serving in that role for a dozen years. He later returned to South America after Pope Francis in 2014 appointed him bishop in Chiclayo, Peru. Francis later called him to Rome in 2023 to head the highly influential Dicastery for Bishops.  

Prevost, 69, was born on Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago. He is of Italian, French, and Spanish descent. He studied at an Augustinian minor seminary in Michigan and later earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania.  

He officially entered the Order of St. Augustine in 1978, making his solemn vows in 1981. He was ordained to the priesthood in June 1982 after studying theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.  

After being ordained, he earned a doctorate in canon law from Rome’s Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas (also known as the Angelicum) in 1987.  

Prevost returned to Chicago for a short time in 1987, serving as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Midwest Augustinians (Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel). He was then sent to Peru, where he served the Augustinians in various capacities including as a regional ecclesiastical judge and teacher of canon law in the diocesan seminary for Trujillo, Peru, for 10 years. 

After being elected the head of the Augustinian Province of Chicago, Prevost returned to the U.S. in 1999. He was elected prior general of the Augustinians in 2001 and then reelected in 2007, serving as head of the Order until 2013. Pope Francis appointed Prevost as apostolic administrator of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014, and he was ordained bishop that same year. In 2015, Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Chiclayo. 

While serving the Church in Peru, Francis made Prevost a member of the Dicastery for the Clergy in 2019 and then a member of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2020. In 2023, Francis made Prevost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. In that capacity, Prevost played a key role in the selection process for diocesan bishops around the world and in the investigation of allegations against bishops. 

In 2023, Prevost spoke to Vatican News about what he considered to be the “portrait of a bishop.” 

“We are often preoccupied with teaching doctrine, the way of living our faith, but we risk forgetting that our first task is to teach what it means to know Jesus Christ and to bear witness to our closeness to the Lord,” he told Vatican News. 

“This comes first: to communicate the beauty of the faith, the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus,” he added. “It means that we ourselves are living it and sharing this experience.” 

Pope Francis made him a cardinal on September 30, 2023.  

Bishop Folda and fellow U.S. bishops react to the election of Pope Leo XIV

U.S. bishops hailed the election of former Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV.  

“The election of Pope Leo XIV was an occasion of great joy and a huge surprise for us all,” said Bishop John Folda. “After I had assured everyone that the next pope would not be an American, the Holy Spirit showed us that he had other ideas! What a blessing. In this historic moment, let us pray for Pope Leo as he begins his ministry as the Successor of St. Peter. May God bless him, strengthen him, and keep him safe as he begins his pontificate.” 

Other bishops took to social media to share their joy over the election.  

“Omnes Cum Petro ad Jesum per Mariam!” Lansing, Michigan, Bishop Earl Boyea wrote, meaning: “All with Peter to Jesus through Mary!” 

Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Monforton wrote on X: “God bless our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV as he shares the joy of the Gospel with all the world. Together, let us fervently pray for Pope Leo XIV and his papal office.” 

Kansas City, Kansas, Archbishop-elect Shawn McKnight wrote that the Church “welcome[s] our Holy Father” with “great thanksgiving.”  

“Let the Church find hope in this moment and let us pray together as one people of God, entrusting our new Holy Father to the guidance of the Holy Spirit,” the prelate said. “I pledge my loyalty and love to Pope Leo XIV as he takes up the mantle of St. Peter during this challenging time. May God bless him as he serves the Church and our entire world.” 

Arlington, Virginia, Bishop Michael Burbidge encouraged the faithful to “offer prayers, sacrifices, and works of charity for Pope Leo XIV and his intentions.” 

“United in prayer for Pope Leo XIV, may we ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen him daily with divine grace in order that he may bring the light of faith and the unchanging and life-giving word of God to the challenges of our times,” Burbidge said.  

Brooklyn, New York, Bishop Robert Brennan said the Church welcomes the new pope “warmly, with great love.”  

“God has given us a new shepherd,” he said. “Let’s pray for him with all our hearts.”  

Gary, Indiana, Bishop Robert McClory urged the faithful in a video address to “keep [the new pope] in our prayers... thank God for the gift that he’ll be for the Church, and take some time to celebrate tonight. And make sure you offer an Our Father, a Hail Mary, [and] a Glory Be for our new Pope Leo,” he said. “What a great joy to all the Church.... Habemus papam!” 

Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration Mass was held May 18 in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome. The inauguration Mass was the formal installation ceremony where Pope Leo XIV received the fisherman’s ring and the pallium as symbols of his papal office.