The new Pope is Robert Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo XIV – the first American pontiff to be elected leader of the Catholic Church.
Prevost, 69, is greeted with huge cheers from thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square
“May peace be with all of you,” he says from the Vatican balcony
Chicago-born Prevost is seen as a reformer and worked for many years as a missionary in Peru before being made an archbishop there.
The new pope was picked even faster than his predecessor Francis.
He was picked after three votes- two previous unsuccessful rounds this morning and one on Wednesday night.
If the fourth
ballot had been unsuccessful, there would have been no black smoke but a final vote would have been conducted.
Already, World leaders have been congratulating Pope Leo XIV, with US President Donald Trump calling it a “great honour” to have an American Pope
