A new pope is chosen

Updated May 8, 2025

We have a new pope!

White smoke appeared from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Thursday, signaling that cardinals had elected a successor to Pope Francis.

That man was revealed to be Robert Prevost, the first American pontiff in history. He will take on the name Pope Leo XIV.

More than an hour after the white smoke, the new pope stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and greeted the thousands of people who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“Peace be with you all,” he said as he started his address.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square. (Yara Nardi/Reuters)

People fill St. Peter's Square on Thursday. (Murad Sezer/Reuters)

The new pope is 69 years old and from Chicago. A leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.

“Let us keep in our ears the weak voice of Pope Francis that blesses Rome,” Leo said during his address on Thursday. “The Pope who blessed Rome, gave his blessing to the entire world that morning of Easter. Allow me to follow up on that blessing. God loves us. God loves everyone. Evil will not prevail.”

The Vatican flag is hung outside Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral on Thursday. (Mustafa Hussain for CNN)

Worshipers sit inside Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Pope Leo’s birthplace. (Mustafa Hussain/CNN)

Leo worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023.

He called on the Catholic Church to be a “synodal” church, “one which goes forward and which always seeks peace and to be close to those who suffer.”

For the past 24 hours, much of the world’s attention has been on the Vatican, where the papal conclave had been taking place.

A man in St. Peter’s Square holds up an American flag as people cheer on Thursday. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

White smoke is released from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Thursday. (Vatican Media)

Francis, the only Latin American pontiff in history, died last month at the age of 88. His funeral, held on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, was attended by heads of state, royalty and more than 250,000 mourners.

When the white plume of smoke began rising from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney on Thursday, there was a huge cheer of relief and joy from the thousands of people watching in St. Peter’s Square.

There was a burst of applause, and the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica began ringing to welcome the news. As news spread, some people began running through the streets of Rome to get to the square.

A man holds a cross in St. Peter’s Square. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

Women in St. Peter’s Square react to the news of a new pope. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

A newspaper with coverage of the conclave sits on the ground at the Vatican. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

People gathered at the Vatican hold umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

The papal conclave, a centuries-old tradition, can be as suspenseful as it is secretive. It began on Wednesday, with 133 cardinals attending. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote in a papal election.

The conclave started with a special Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. Later, the cardinals assembled at the Pauline Chapel before walking to the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel is where voting took place. During the conclave, the chapel was placed under total lockdown to guarantee secrecy. In 2013, signal blockers were installed to prevent any calls, texts or internet access.

Cardinals attend a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica before the start of the conclave on Wednesday. (Vatican Media/Getty Images)

Statues are silhouetted atop St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

A view of St. Peter’s Square, as seen from the cupola of St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images)

At the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, the cardinals sang prayers and took an oath of secrecy just before the conclave started.

One by one, in order of seniority, each cardinal took the oath.

It was one of the final acts we saw before the chapel closed its doors.

Archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, gave the order of “extra omnes,” a Latin phrase that means “everybody out.” All of the “extras” then filed out, leaving only the 133 cardinal electors.

Cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday. (Vatican Media/Reuters)

Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli works at his shop in Rome. For decades, Mancinelli has personally handcrafted the white cassocks that popes wear on the day of their election. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

A skullcap that will be worn by the future pope is displayed in Mancinelli’s shop. The tailor also includes bishops and cardinals among his clients. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

Archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli closes the doors of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday with the proclamation “extra omnes,” meaning everyone out. (Vatican Media/Getty Images)

A candidate needed two-thirds of the vote to be elected. The results of each vote were revealed to the outside world only by the smoke that comes out from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney each time ballots are burned.

Black smoke means no pope has been chosen. White smoke means the opposite.

The previous two conclaves — held in 2005 to elect Pope Benedict XVI and in 2013 to elect Pope Francis — also lasted two days.

People gather in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

Nuns from around the world have come to the Vatican to witness the conclave. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

A person rests in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

A rosary is held while waiting for the announcement of a new pope. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

Black smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday. (Vatican Media/Reuters)

This conclave was “one of the most diverse that we’ve had in the history of the church,” Susan Timoney, a professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC, previously told CNN.

During Francis’ 12-year papacy, he appointed more than 20 cardinals from nations that had never previously had a cardinal — nearly all from developing countries, including Mongolia, Laos, Papua New Guinea and Mali.

Most of the cardinals in the conclave also owe their positions to Pope Francis. Of the 133 cardinals who voted, Francis installed 108.

Officials, members of the clergy, and conclave staff take an oath of secrecy in the Pauline Chapel on Monday. (Vatican Media/Reuters)

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, arrives for a general congregation meeting on Tuesday. (Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, the archbishop of Algiers, Algeria, arrives in Rome on Tuesday. (Amanda Perobelli/Reuters)

In his speech on Thursday, Pope Leo outlined his vision for the Catholic Church as one that “builds bridges” and engages in conversation.

“We have to seek together to be a missionary church. A church that builds bridges and dialogue,” he said.

The new pope also called on people to “show our charity” to others “and be in dialogue with love,” according to an English translation.

Pope Leo appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday. (Francesco Sforza/Vatican Media/Reuters)

Priests are among the crowd in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday. (Alessio Paduano for CNN)

He mostly spoke in Italian, but at one point he switched to Spanish to address his “beloved diocese” in Peru. He also thanked his fellow cardinals for choosing him to lead the church.

“I should also like to thank all my cardinal brethren who have chosen me to be the successor of Peter and to walk with you as a united church,” he said. “Always seeking peace and justice. Seeking to work with men and women who are faithful to Jesus Christ without fear to proclaim the gospel to be missionaries.”