Chicago native Cardinal Prevost elected pope, takes name Leo XIV

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, was elected the 267th pope May 8 and took the name Pope Leo XIV. He is the first North American to be elected pope and, before the conclave, was the U.S. cardinal most mentioned as a potential successor of St. Peter. The white smoke poured from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel at 6:07 p.m. Rome time and a few minutes later the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica began to ring. About 20 minutes later the Vatican police band and two dozen members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard marched into St. Peter’s Square. They soon were joined by the marching band of the Italian Carabinieri, a branch of military police, and by units of the other branches of the Italian military. The crowd reacts in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on the second day of the conclave as white smoke billows from the chimney indicating a new pope has been elected. (OSV News photo/Kevin Coom ... Read full article.