Catholic Church elects 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Prevost to succeed late Pope Francis as new Pope
Catholic Church elects 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Prevost to succeed late Pope Francis as new Pope
The Catholic Church has elected a new Pope to succeed Pope Francis
The new Pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American, becomes the first American to occupy the highest position in the structure of the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Prevost will know and be called Pope Leo XIII.
The announcement of the election of the new pope was first made known with white smoke that emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
The 133 cardinals who elected Pope Francis’s successor were locked in the Sistine Chapel, their only method of communication with the outside world was signals from its chimney.
A few minutes after 4 pm (GMT), white smoke emerged from the Chimney.
The pouring out of the white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signalling that a pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church was greeted with cheers, applause and the sounding of the bell.
That means the winner secured at least 89 votes of the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis.
The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers.
The name of the elected Pope was announced later, when a top cardinal utters the words “Habemus papam!” Latin for “We have a pope!” from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. The cardinal then reads the winner’s birth name in Latin, and reveals the name he has chosen to be called.
The new pope is then expected to make his first public appearance and impart a blessing from the same loggia.
