The Vatican announced on Thursday that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost had been elected the new pope. The announcement came around an hour after white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel, signaling the swift conclusion of the 2025 conclave. The election was finalized roughly 24 hours after the College of Cardinals began deliberations. Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American missionary who devoted his career to serving in Peru, has been elected as the first American pope in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history. At 69 years old, he has taken the name Leo XIV.
Trump ‘looks forward’ to meeting new pope Leo XIV
US President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday to express his anticipation to meet America’s first pontiff, Robert Francis Prevost, who will take the papal name Leo XIV. “Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!” he wrote.