Robert Francis Prevost, a US native, has been elected the new pope of the Catholic Church.
According the Church, Leone XIV will be his papal name.
The new Pope was elected by the 133 Cardinals on the first day of voting.
He will now bless the assembled throng in St. Peter’s Square and give his first public speech.
On the second day of voting, Catholic cardinals decided on a pope. The first indication that the new pope had been elected came from white smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel chimney.
The choice of the new Pope was decided by a third vote of the Cardinals.
Only transmissions from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney allowed the 133 cardinals who chose Pope Francis’ successor to communicate with the outside world while they were “camped” there.
White smoke came out of the chimney a few minutes after 4 p.m. (GMT).
Cheers, acclaim, and the ringing of the bell were heard when the white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney began to pour forth, indicating that a pope had been chosen to head the Catholic Church.
This indicates that the victor received a minimum of 89 votes from the 133 cardinals who took part in the conclave to choose Pope Francis’ successor.
Cheers broke out from the St. Peter’s Square audience.
Later, when a senior cardinal says, “Habemus papam!” the name will be revealed. Latin meaning “We have a pope!” from St. Peter’s Basilica’s loggia. The winner’s chosen name will then be revealed after the cardinal reads his birth name in Latin.
It is anticipated that the new pope will then give a blessing from the same loggia at his first public appearance.
