US President Donald Trump reacts as first American Pope in history Robert Prevost is elected
by Owen Younger · ChronicleLiveUS President Donald Trump has reacted to the first American Pope in history, Robert Prevost, being elected, as he takes the title of Pope Leo XIV.
It was first revealed that a new Pope had been elected when white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel, bringing the conclave process to an end. Huge crowds gathered in St Peter's Square and they welcomed the news of Robert Prevost officially becoming the Catholic religious leader and the 267th Pope.
Now, President Trump has said that he will “look forward to meeting” Pope Leo XIV, in a post on social media. He posted: "Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope.
"What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!"
Mr Prevost is 69, which is relatively young for a Pope, he was born in Chicago, Illinois, and has also been a Peruvian citizen since 2015, where he held a senior position in the church for almost 10 years. He was made a cardinal in 2023, and is seen as a centrist figure within the religion, in a similar way to his predecessor.
It was just after 5pm UK time on Thursday that the specially-erected chimney at the chapel billowed the white smoke to cheers and applause from onlookers. 133 cardinals had entered the chapel on Wednesday afternoon, with the secret conclave meeting getting under way behind closed doors, and it took just 24 hours to elect their new leader.
The late Pope Francis had appointed 108 of the 133 cardinals who took part in the conclave to choose his successor. He was vocal on politics, speaking out against war and climate change, and such was his popularity, he was dubbed by many to have been "the People’s Pope".
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.