At 6:08 pm Italian time, through the chimney installed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, the white smoke came out announcing that the conclave had reached a consensus on the third vote of the day, the fourth in general, and that the Catholic Church had a new pope. Almost an hour later, from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti appeared to announce that the new pontiff is the American cardinal, naturalized Peruvian, Robert Francis Prevost, 69 years old, and that he had chosen the name Leo XIV for his papacy.
Prevost thus became the first American pope, the first Peruvian pope, and the first Augustinian pope.
What were the first words of Leo XIV?
When he appeared on the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the new pope was seen very emotional as he greeted the thousands of faithful gathered in the square.
“Peace be with you all. Dear brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for God’s flock. I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts and reach your families, all people everywhere, all the earth: peace be with you”, were his first words.
He then advocated for a Church that is “missionary” and “welcoming” that builds “bridges of dialogue to be one people, always in peace.” He also thanked Francis, with whom he was very close, and announced that “we want to be a synodal Church.”
Leo XIV spoke in Italian, but paused to speak in Spanish and remember Chiclayo, in northern Peru: “If you allow me, a greeting to my dear diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru, where a town has accompanied its bishop.”
Who is Robert Francis Prevost?
The new Pope Leo XIV, born on September 14, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of a mother of Spanish descent, entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and made his solemn vows in 1981.
After his ordination in 1982, Prevost joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and served as the chancellor of the Territorial Prelature of Chulucanas from 1985 to 1986.
Since that date, he has spent almost his entire life in northern Peru and in 2015 he became a naturalized Peruvian.
In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as a cardinal and he was appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.