The new head of the Catholic Church elected in the third voting during the ongoing Conclave is Cardinal Robert Prevost from the USA. 

The cardinals gathered for the conclave in the Sistine Chapel elected a new pope on Thursday. After 6pm, white smoke rose from the chimney on the chapel roof. Bells rang out. Thousands of people cheered in the square.

The conclave, which included a record number of 133 electors, began on Wednesday and lasted for a day.

The new Pope was born on 14 September 1955 in Chicago, Illinois. Cardinal Prevost pursued a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at Villanova University. He joined the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977, professing solemn vows in 1981. He was ordained a priest in Rome in 1982 and later earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.  

From 2001 to 2013, Prevost served as Prior General of the Augustinian Order. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He was created a cardinal in September 2023 and elevated to Cardinal-Bishop of Albano in February 2025. 

The new Pope took the name of Leo XIV which was expected by some commentators as one that could be chosen in relation with the tradition of Pope Leo XIII, the famous author of Churches’ social

Source: PAP, Vatican Press Office

Photo: Vatican News

Tomasz Modrzejewski