Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States was elected the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Pope Leo XIV and becoming the primary American to carry the papacy.
Prevost, 69, stepped onto the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to cheers from hundreds gathered in St Peter’s Square, marking the conclusion of a temporary conclave that took just 4 rounds of voting over a little bit greater than 24 hours.
“The undeniable fact that it took only 4 rounds is a transparent sign of the unity of the Church,” Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi said at a Vatican press briefing, in line with media reports. The election was even faster than the 2013 conclave that selected Pope Francis.
Pope Leo XIV’s election follows the death of Pope Francis, who passed away last month at age 88. Francis, the primary Latin American pope, was widely known for his emphasis on the poor and marginalized, in addition to for sparking theological debate amongst Catholic and evangelical observers regarding his views on controversial cultural issues, amongst others.
Prevost’s elevation comes as a surprise to those that believed an American pope remained unlikely attributable to the Vatican’s longstanding caution about U.S. political influence. Yet Prevost’s decades-long ministry abroad and global leadership within the Church helped position him as a unifying candidate, in line with some commentators.
Born in Chicago, Prevost was ordained in 1982 and earned a doctorate in canon law in Rome. He spent 20 years as a missionary and bishop in Peru, where he became a naturalized citizen. He later led the Augustinian order and, until Francis’s death, directed the influential Vatican office overseeing bishop appointments worldwide.
However, like many senior church leaders, he has faced criticism over his handling of cases involving priests accused of sexual abuse—a problem that continues to be certainly one of the Church’s most pressing challenges.
Evangelical leaders and observers will probably be watching closely to see how Pope Leo XIV’s leadership shapes the longer term direction of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly in matters of theology, interfaith relations, and public witness.
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