The Vatican has announced 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a native of Chicago, has been chosen to be the next Pope, making him the first American to become the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a native of Chicago who is now the first American-born pope, has spent most of his career outside of the U.S, ministering to the dispossessed and marginalized.
The “Latin Yankee,” as he is known in Rome, worked 20 years in Peru. [image or embed] — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) May 8, 2025 at 10:37 AM
From the Washington Post:
The “Latin Yankee,” as he is known in Rome, worked 20 years in Peru’s poorest enclave — falling so in love with the country that he became a naturalized citizen. His commitment there echoes the legacy of Pope Francis, an Argentine who became the Catholic Church’s first leader from South America.
“He’s right out of Francis’s playbook,” said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame who focuses on U.S. Catholics. “He ticks off all the boxes of a future pope: a pastoral heart, managerial experience and vision.”
Francis turned to Prevost on repeated occasions. In 2022, he had him preside over a revolutionary reform: adding three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations go forward to the pope. Yet his successor is considered more middle of the road, pragmatic as well as cautious.
The conclave lasted one day and 24 minutes, give or take a few seconds, measured from when the doors to the Sistine Chapel closed at 5:44 p.m. Wednesday to when the white smoke appeared at 6:08 p.m. the next day.
Breaking news: Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected pope on the second day of the Vatican conclave.
The first American pope, he will be known as Leo XIV. wapo.st/452zHRU [image or embed] — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) May 8, 2025 at 10:30 AM
In what might be a good sign, Prevost has publicly disagreed with Vice President JD Vance on social media. 
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