He is the 267th pope and has become the religious leader of Catholics across the globe.
It comes after white smoke billowed into the air from the Sistine Chapel on the afternoon of May 8, confirming a successor to Pope Francis had been elected.
The new Pope was confirmed at just after 6pm, with his papal name revealed as Pope Leo XIV.
Habemus Papam! We have a Pope!
The Cardinals gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th Pope, who took the name Pope Leo XIV. pic.twitter.com/7COawsKvWu
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) May 8, 2025
Robert Prevost elected as new pope
Born in 1955, Cardinal Prevost, 69, is the first American pope and has lived in Peru for a number of years and was made an archbishop in the South American country.
He has extensive experience in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.
He speaks a number of languages and is considered similar to Pope Francis in viewpoints and was chosen by Pope Francis to replace Marc Ouellet as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops two years ago.
Pope Francis sent him to run the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014, a position he held until 2023, when Francis brought him to Rome for his current role.
Cardinal Prevost is also president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a job that keeps him in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in the part of the world that still counts the most Catholics.
Why does the pope change his name?
When asked if he accepts his election as pope, the new leader of the Catholic Church is also asked about how he would like to be known to the world.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis associated himself with the much-loved Italian saint who focused on peace, poverty and simplicity.
Catholic commentator, Joe Ronan, said: “If you were going to change your name, you would want to change your name for a particular reason and you would want to make a particular point with it.”
He said generally popes picking a name are likely to choose one of someone they have admired or want to emulate.
However, a new pope, as supreme leader of the Church, can choose to keep his own name as there are no set rules on changing it.
Mr Ronan, who works with the Catholic Voices media charity, said the tradition of choosing a papal name only began in the 500s.
John has been the most popular name, alongside others such as Gregory and Benedict, all of which have been chosen a number of times.
The name that has never been chosen and is unlikely ever to be picked is Pete, as Saint Peter was the Church’s first Pope, and all those after him are seen as chosen successors.
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Where does the Pope live?
Typically, the Pope lives in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, which can also be referred to as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican or the Vatican Palace.
Pope Francis, however, chose to live in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, a guesthouse within Vatican City, instead of the traditionally used Apostolic Palace.
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