Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a Chicago-born church leader with deep ties to Latin America, was elected the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday.
Prevost, 69, is the first U.S. citizen to ascend to the papacy and will take on the name Pope Leo XIV, according to Vatican News.
One hundred thirty-five cardinals gathered in a conclave to elect the new pope, and they were without contact with the outside world during the process.
The election of Prevost was announced to crowds in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Rome, after white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney earlier in the morning, signaling the conclave had officially come to a decision, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Prevost is originally from Chicago and has spent much of his time working as a minister in Peru and other parts of Latin America.
Currently, Prevost leads the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, which oversees the selection of new bishops worldwide.
Father Mark R. Francis, CSV, provincial of the Viatorians in the United States, previously studied with Prevost at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago from 1978 until 1982.
The two also spent time working together in Rome during the early 2000s, according to CBS News.
Fr. Francis has previously said that “coming together as a Christian community” will be the most important part of electing a new pope, and he trusts any decision made by the conclave.
“My experience of Cardinal Prevost was that he’s not a showboat,” he said, per CBS News.
“He’s very calm, but extremely intelligent, and extremely compassionate.”
Prevost XIV provided comments upon being announced as the newest pope, saying that he wants peace to “enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are,” according to The Guardian.
President Donald Trump quickly posted on social media to welcome the new pope.