Date: 2025-08-20 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00028487
THE PAPACY
ROBERT FRANCIS PREVOST IS NEW POPE
Meet Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, the first American pope
ROBERT FRANCIS PREVOST IS NEW POPE
Meet Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, the first American pope
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost attends the funeral of Pope Francis
in St. Peter's Square on April 26 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Photo: Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Original article:
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
Peter Burgess
Avery Lotz, Sareen Habeshian
Pope Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost attends Francis' funeral.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was elected as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, the second day of voting in the internationally watched papal conclave.
He will be the first pope from the U.S. and will be known to the world as Pope Leo XIV.
Why it matters: Pope Leo is the first American pope and now heads a church with some 1.4 billion members worldwide. But his power will transcend the faith community as Leo assumes a role with vast diplomatic and social influence.
Driving the news: After the white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel to signal that a conclave winner had emerged Thursday evening, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti made the famous 'Habemus Papam' ('We have a pope') announcement and introduced Leo to the world.
State of play: Prevost received the required two-thirds majority of cardinal electors to become the next pope.
He was chosen during either the fourth or fifth round of voting after one vote on Wednesday and two votes on Thursday morning yielded no consensus among the cardinals. Context: The more than 130 cardinals participating in the conclave, which began Wednesday, took an oath of absolute secrecy before voting began in the Sistine Chapel.
Catch up quick: Pope Francis' death last month set the conclave in motion, bringing Cardinals from around the world to the Vatican to usher in a new era of Catholic leadership.
During his chapter of the church, Francis championed historically progressive stances, such as spreading climate change awareness and advocating for immigrants' rights and inclusivity toward LGBTQ+ people.
More from Axios:
- Why Asia, Africa loom large in deciding next pope
- Pope Francis' popemobile to serve as health clinic for Gaza children
- 'Conclave' viewership spikes after Pope Francis' death
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/05/05/us-power-conclave-new-pope https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/05/05/us-power-conclave-new-pope Religion Chicago-born cardinal gains papal buzz as conclave meets at Vatican
Carrie Shepherd
IMAGE: Cardinals in red robes and white tall hats in a procession.
The Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, center, and Cardinal Robert Prevost, second from right, attend the Seventh Novemdiale mass last week at St Peter's basilica. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images
Editor's note: Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025. This story was originally published on May 5, 2025.
A Chicago-born Cardinal is getting attention as a possible contender to be the new pope, but scholars say an American in the role is unlikely.
Why it matters: For Catholics, the big question is whether the next pope's views will be aligned with the late Pope Francis' more progressive beliefs or the new leader will adhere to a more traditionalist doctrine.
Leading a church with more than 1.4 billion global members extends beyond the faithful, and the pope is a critical player in the secular power balance. Driving the news: The conclave that will select the next pope convenes Wednesday at the Vatican, more than two weeks after Pope Francis died at the age of 88.
How it works: The new pope will be determined by 135 cardinals from across the globe, including Chicago's Archbishop, Cardinal Blase Cupich.
One round of voting will be Wednesday, followed by four rounds daily until a successor is chosen.
A two-thirds majority of electors present is required to elect a new pope. Voting has not exceeded five days in the past century. Zoom in: Cardinal Robert Prevost has received attention in the last week as a possible successor to Francis.
Prevost was born in Chicago and was a priest at parishes in the city before serving in Peru and then working alongside Francis in Rome.
Like Francis, Prevost has emphasized the importance of inclusivity in the church, the National Catholic Reporter notes.
Prevost joins one other American on a list of 12 potential candidates.
Yes, but: A pope from the United States is unlikely for several reasons, including that an American pope would give the U.S. even more influence than it already has, Loyola University scholar Michael Canaris tells Axios.
Between the lines: The cardinals pay attention to President Trump.
'Trump's cuts on the USAID work drastically impacted the Bishops Conference, because they were engaged in so much work for people of all different backgrounds, all different faiths … resettling refugees, many of whom were Muslim, for instance,' Canaris says.
The latest: The White House posting an AI-generated image of the president as 'His Holiness' last weekend does not favor the argument for an American in the role after world leaders called him 'ridiculous' and a 'clown.'
Zoom out: Francis was known to welcome people on the margins of the traditional Catholic Church —LGBTQ+ people, those living in poverty and migrants — but also believed in synodality, which gives lay people a more powerful voice in the church and puts the people, not the pope, at the center of the church as a community.
State of play: The question facing this conclave will be whether to continue Francis' embrace of synodality or abandon that.
'There's certainly voices in the church who see that as muddying the waters of doctrinal clarity when you provide the sort of gray areas,' Canaris says. Cupich, however, is most likely not one of them as he has been aligned with Francis' view of welcoming the stranger and has been very critical of Trump's deportations, for example.
The bottom line: All eyes are on the Vatican but don't hold your breath on the new pope being from Chicago or even the U.S.