Conclave: This is the new Pope Robert Francis Prevost

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost (69) of the USA is the new pope, the Vatican announced on Thursday. He chose the name Leo XIV.

White smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican after only 24 hours of conclave. Shortly after 6 p.m., loud cheers erupted in St. Peter's Square, where some 15,000 people were waiting. The bells rang from St. Peter's Basilica.

Close to the people and now at the head of the Catholic Church: Prevost is the 267th Pontiff. He will be the first American to lead the 1.4 billion members of the global church.

His election is seen as a compromise—and at the same time a sign of unity. Prevost combines American heritage, Latin American influences, and Roman leadership experience. This made him the consensus candidate of a College of Cardinals that had to overcome cultural and ecclesiastical differences.

Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of French, Spanish, and Italian descent, Prevost initially studied mathematics before joining the Augustinian Order in 1977. He was ordained a priest in Rome in 1982. He later earned his doctorate in canon law there.

From the mid-1980s, Prevost worked as a missionary in Peru. There, he founded parishes, directed a seminary, and was active in bishop training. In 2015, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Chiclayo, a diocese in the north of the country. During the political crises, he worked for stability.

In 2023, he was promoted to head of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops—the Vatican agency that selects bishops worldwide. He was made a cardinal in the same year. Despite this key role, Prevost is said to have remained reserved, not seeking the media spotlight. In church circles, he is considered pragmatic and moderate, according to the newspaper "La Repubblica," among others.

Prevost represents continuity in the spirit of Francis. He is considered someone who listens, mediates, and seeks change without polarizing. As the first American to hold the See of St. Peter, he comes from a country where, according to the Vatican, around 60 percent of the US population was Catholic in 2024. Yet, today, Catholicism is growing dynamically primarily in Africa and Asia, not in the West.

Prevost's long experience in Latin America has shaped his work. In Peru, where approximately two-thirds of the 34 million inhabitants are Catholic, the Church is deeply rooted in social and cultural life, supported by the constitution and a bilateral agreement with the Vatican.

In church circles, the new pope is considered a pragmatic diplomat. When the so-called Synodal Path to the Future of the Church met with criticism in Rome in 2023, Prevost, together with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, mediated between the German bishops and the Vatican.

But his career has not been free of problems: He is accused of not consistently pursuing cases of abuse during his time in Chicago and later as bishop in Chiclayo. Prevost denies the allegations, and the diocese has dismissed them.

In many ways, Prevost showed closeness to the late pontiff – something more conservative voices criticize. He is considered a moderate reformer without abandoning his tenets. His stance on environmental issues is particularly evident: Like Francis, Prevost has repeatedly advocated decisive action against climate change.

He is also considered a staunch supporter of the Synod: He has repeatedly emphasized that the Church must be more transparent and open to the voices of the faithful. This includes strengthening the role of lay people and changing the style of church leadership—for example, by listening more attentively and reducing hierarchy.

At the same time, he rejects some reforms, including the ordination of women to church offices. At the 2023 World Synod, he warned against a "clericalization of women." He argued that this was not a solution, but potentially a new source of problems. Women already play diverse, central roles in the church.

The new pope stands between North and South, between Rome and the periphery. Prevost's biography—from Chicago to Peru to the Vatican leadership—makes him a mediator between cultures and generations. The world now awaits with anticipation how the first American to sit on the papal throne will lead the Catholic Church.