VATICAN CITY — Stepping onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday evening, Pope Leo XIV officially took on his new role as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
The announcement of his election came just after 6 p.m. local time, when white smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel — the traditional signal that the College of Cardinals had chosen a new pope to succeed Pope Francis.
Wearing the white cassock and red mozzetta of his new office, the former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost left behind both his cardinal’s robes and his given name, stepping forward as Leo XIV.
His election comes at a pivotal moment for the global Church and its 1.4 billion followers. The new pontiff faces the challenge of either continuing Pope Francis’ reformist legacy or steering the Church in a more conservative direction.
