The Catholic Church Has Elected Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope

Prevost, who will take the name Leo XIV, was elected as the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Andrew Medichini/AP
Share
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Andrew Medichini/AP
The Catholic Church Has Elected Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope
Copy

Live video feed from the Associated Press.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and led the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. Prevost, 69, took the name Leo XIV.

White smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday at 6:07 p.m. local time, signaling that a pontiff had been elected to lead the Catholic Church.

Read more updated news on the Associated Press.

The East Bay senator missed the mark when she took a shot at preserving a controversial assault weapons ban bill. But she hit on something else
The report, requested by House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, provides a series of cost-saving recommendations, including fare increases and route reductions.
Whether it’s national, local, new or an encore, here’s what to watch this August on Rhode Island PBS
“Growth and innovation is the shape of the tradition that I’m a part of, and it asks that of me constantly”
We highlight a few of the many events happening across the Community Libraries of Providence – from a bilingual theater workshop to your chance to make a giant cyanotype image from vintage Apollo mission moon photographs. Plus: the Smith Hill block party