Habemus Papam: Pope Leo XIV

Cardinal Robert Prevost of the USA has become the next pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Leo XIV.

Elected on the conclave's fourth ballot, as the 267th Roman Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV greeted the crowds gathered in St Peter’s Square at just after 6.20pm BST.

Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was the head of the Church's Dicastery for Bishops and is the first Pope from the United States of America.

The name the new Holy Father has selected may suggest an emphasis on Catholic Social Teaching. Pope Leo XIII is best remembered for his great encyclical Rerum Novarum on the dignity of labour and the common good. He was a pope who sought reconciliation above all - between the Church and the modern world and between workers and bosses.

Time in Peru

Born in Chicago in 1955, the new Holy Father was ordained a priest in 1982. In 1985, he joined the Augustinian mission to Peru where he spent many years. This time in Peru and his more recent responsibilities as President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America have clearly influenced how he views the challenge of the climate crisis. In November 2024 he said that humanity’s dominion over nature should not be tyrannical but "a relationship of reciprocity" and that climate change should be responded to in a way guided by the social doctrine of the Church.

Continuing the mission

Like his predecessors, Pope Leo XIV will continue to build on the richness of Catholic Social Teaching by offering his reading of the signs of the times present in our world today, inviting Catholics to respond to these issues in the light of faith.

He will be able to use his influence to work with world leaders to ensure that the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable people are taken into account.

“May peace be with you all”

From the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV gave a blessing of peace, the peace of the "Good Shepherd who gave his life for his flock". Thanking the cardinal electors, he called upon the faithful to be the bridge that the world needs: "We must build bridges with dialogue, coming together, uniting, becoming one single people in peace."

Before, calling on the intercession of Our Lady of Pompeii and leading all those assembled in the Hail Mary, Pope Leo XIV spoke of desiring "a synodal Church, a Church that walks forward step by step, that seeks peace, seeks charity and wants to be as close as possible to those who suffer".

Pray with us for Pope Leo XIV

Christine Allen, CAFOD’s director, commented:

“We will keep Pope Leo XIV in our prayers for his work with the Church and in the world encouraging leaders to come together for the common good, so that people everywhere – including the most vulnerable and those on the margins of society – are able to flourish.”