On Thursday evening, shortly after 6PM Central European Summer Time, white smoke billowed from the chimney installed on the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, announcing that a new pope had been elected.
The crowd waiting in front of St Peter’s Basilica erupted in cheers and waves to the cameras and spectators after seeing the smoke rise.
The “proto-diacon” cardinal Dominique Mamberti then appeared on the balcony of St Peer’s Basilica to announce the name of the new pope and the name under which he will begin his papacy: the American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who will take the name of Leo XIV.
The 69-year-old was made cardinal by the late Francis in 2023 and was born in the US city Chicago.
A little more than an hour passed between the white smoke and the announcement of the new pope.
Leo XIV was elected in the evening of the second day of the conclave, after two inconclusive rounds of voting in the morning, signalled by black smoke emanating from the Sistine Chapel chimney.
The new pontiff and successor to the late Pope Francis needed to obtain a two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, in order to be elected by the 133 cardinals eligible to vote.
Source: Africa News
