OAN Staff Gabriella Sable
11:10 AM – Thursday, May 8, 2025
On Thursday, in Vatican City, American Cardinal Robert Prevost was announced as the new Pope from the Vatican balcony.
The incoming 69-year-old Pope will go by the Papal name “Pope Leo XIV,” becoming the 267th Pontiff.
Prevost, a Chicago native, makes history as the first American ever to be elected Pope. He received the required two-thirds majority after the fourth vote by the Cardinal electors.
The Cardinal electors entered the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday to begin the conclave ceremony following the death of Pope Francis.
Only Cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in the Papal election. Francis was 88-years-old and he became Pope back in 2013 — after the passing of Pope Benedict XVI.
As is tradition, ballots are burned after each round of voting, and black smoke signals that no decision has been made yet. On the flip side, the presence of white smoke indicates that a new Pope has in fact been chosen.
The white smoke signaling the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV appeared at around 6:00 PM local time in Rome (9:00 AM PT, 12:00 PM ET) on Thursday, May 8th.
This moment marked the successful conclusion of the Papal conclave, indicating that the 133 Cardinal electors had reached the required two-thirds majority to elect the new Pope.
The longest Papal election lasted three years from 1268 to 1271. In contrast, the most recent three Popes, including Prevost, were all elected between the fourth and eighth rounds of voting.
The decision to elect an American pope breaks with tradition, as there has long been resistance to a U.S. pontiff due to concerns that the U.S. already holds significant global power.
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