Pope Leo XIV appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and leads the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first U.S. pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.
Prevost, 69, took the name Leo XIV.
FILE – Newly elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, right, receives his biretta from Pope Francis as he is elevated in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, file)FILE – Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, poses for a photo at the end of the consistory where Pope Francis elevated 21 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)FILE – Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, leads the recitation of the Holy Rosary for Pope Francis’ health in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica after his election, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica after his election, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)ope Leo XIV appears on the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)