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BREAKING: Habemus papam! Cardinal Robert Prevost elected as Pope Leo XIV

White smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel today at 6:09 p.m. Rome time, signaling the College of Cardinals has chosen a new pope.

Cardinal Mamberti appears on the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica and proclaims: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam! Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum Robertum Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem Prevost, qui sibi nomen imposuit Leonem Decimum Quartum.” Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A., the 69-year-old American Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, has been elected as the 267th successor of St. Peter, taking the name Leo XIV. The crowd erupts in jubilation as the announcement echoes across St. Peter’s Square. The conclave has concluded after requiring six ballots to reach the necessary two-thirds majority.

White smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel today at 6:09 p.m. Rome time, signaling the College of Cardinals has chosen a new pope. Of the 133 cardinals sequestered in the Vatican since May 7, one has now been elected as the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

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