Who is Pope Leo XIV?

Cardi­nal Robert Fran­cis Prevost is a 69 year old Chicago native, he was elected as the 267^th pope, taking the name of Pope Leo XIV. He is the first Amer­i­can born pope in the history of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIV has a rich back­ground in Catholi­cism, where he spent over two decades in Peru where he served as a bishop. He was created cardi­nal by Pope Fran­cis in 2023, and as of May 8^th 2025, he is the new pope of the Catholic Church. 

With Pope Fran­cis’ pass­ing the spot for the new pope had opened, on May 8^th 2025 Pope Leo XIV was inducted into the office. 

But how does this work?

When the pope passes away, the Catholic Church enters a period where the seat is vacant, this is called “sede vacante”. Then the pope’s death is confirmed by a senior cardi­nal, who then over­sees the Catholic Church during this time. The senior cardi­nal also orga­nizes the pope’s funeral and ensures the Fisherman’s Ring (a symbol of author­ity) is destroyed. During this period, all major deci­sions by the Catholic Church are paused in prepa­ra­tion for the new pope.

The name for the process of elect­ing a new pope is called a ‘conclave’ and the process takes place in the Sistine Chapel in Vati­can City. All Catholic Cardi­nals meet in the dome and all of those under 80 vote. No contact from the outside world is made until the voting is done. A two thirds major­ity of the Church is required to elect a new pope. After each round ballots are destroyed and black smoke signals no deci­sion whereas white smoke signals a success­ful elec­tion. Once a new pope is chosen he has to accept his role and chooses a name to run under. Finally the Chapel opens up and a new pope is elected.