American Robert Prevost has been elected the 267th Pope.
He is to be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Cardinals voted in the conclave and decided to back the 69-yesr-old American, who was Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishop from Chicago, the largest Archdiocese in North America.
The cardinal, who holds both American and Peruvian citizenship, also serves as the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, where nearly 40 per cent of the world’s Catholics reside.
Born in Chicago in 1955, the American had a long career in missionary work in South America, working for nearly 15 years in Peru until 1998. In 2015, he was appointed the bishop of Chiclayo in northwest Peru.
He has championed the importance of on the ground work. In a 2023 interview with Vatican News, he said: “One must not give in to the temptation to live isolated, separated in a palace, satisfied with a certain social level or a certain level within the church.
“The authority we have is to serve, to accompany priests, to be pastors and teachers.”
Prevost is also an expert in canon law, a system that functions like a constitution and legal system specifically for the Catholic Church, affording him appeal to the more traditional wings of the Vatican.
