Robert Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV as cardinals elect first US pontiff

<p>Announcement prompts raucous celebration and delight among 50,000 pilgrims and tourists in St Peter’s Square</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/may/08/new-pope-conclave-vatican-white-black-smoke-papacy-catholic-cardinals">Conclave live: cardinals elect new pope</a></li></ul><p>Robert Prevost has become the first American to lead the Roman Catholic church, ending the Vatican’s longstanding opposition to the idea of a pontiff from the United States.</p><p>The 69-year-old from Chicago has taken the papal name Pope Leo XIV, a senior cardinal announced from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on Thursday evening.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/08/white-smoke-signals-election-of-new-roman-catholic-pope">Continue reading...</a>