Even before his name was announced from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, thousands of people in St Peter’s Square chanted in chorus, “Viva il Papa” – Long live the Pope.
Robert Francis Prevost, 69, will be the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter and he will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
He is the first American to fill the role of pope, although he is considered as much a cardinal from Latin America because of the many years he spent as a missionary in Peru.
From the balcony, Leo acknowledged the late Francis, a patron who had elevated him, from a priest who spent two decades as a missionary in Peru to one of the powerful positions in the Vatican, where he oversaw the promotion of the church’s hierarchy.
The faithful waited to hear the pope’s first message, which would set the tone for his papacy.
“Peace be upon you,” said Leo XIV, appearing on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
He proceeded to repeat a blessing uttered by his late predecessor, Pope Francis, just weeks earlier: “God loves us, God loves everyone, and evil will not prevail. We are in the hands of God.”
Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Prevost served as an altar boy and was ordained in 1982.
Although he moved to Peru three years later, he returned regularly to the US to serve as a pastor and a prior in his home city.
He has Peruvian nationality and is fondly remembered as a figure who worked with marginalised communities and helped build bridges.
He spent 10 years as a local parish pastor and as a teacher at a seminary in Trujillo in north-western Peru.
“We still hear in our ears the weak but always courageous voice of Pope Francis who blessed us,” he said.
“United and hand in hand with God, let us advance together,” he told cheering crowds.
Pope Leo XIV was elected on the second day of the conclave, and his opening remarks as leader signalled continuity with Francis, who died on April 21 at age 88.
In 2014, Francis made him Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru.
He is well known to cardinals because of his high-profile role as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Latin America which has the important task of selecting and supervising bishops.
He became archbishop in January 2023 and within a few months Francis made him a cardinal.
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Leo XIV called on Catholics to seek “a disarmed peace and a disarming peace” through “dialogue” and “building bridges”, in a brief speech heavy with themes of unity.
Prevost is believed to have shared Francis’ views on migrants, the poor and the environment.
