On Thursday, 8 May, a new Pope was elected after white smoke appeared from the rooftop of the Vatican at 17:08 BST.
Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter, and the first American Pope after the Conclave of cardinals, which began on May 7 due to the passing of Pope Francis. He took the name Leo XIV.
In Rome, 40,000 people flocked to St Peter’s Basilica, from Rome residents to those who travelled internationally from Argentina to Australia to gather and see who would become the next Pope.
In the Piazza San Pietro, the atmosphere was tangible, as ecstatic crowds chanted “Habemus papam” and “Via il papa” (“long live the pope”) with crowds carrying flags from their home countries.
Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago, ordained in 1982, and became a Cardinal in 2023.
Prevost has Peruvian nationality, having moved there in 1985. He was well known amongst Cardinals for his high-profile role as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Latin America, and his work in helping marginalised communities and building bridges towards peace, which he emphasised in his first speech as Pope.
Leo XIV has been regarded as a continuity candidate to institutionalise Francis’ legacy due to his care for migrants and marginalised people, and having taken this name from Pope Leo XIII, one who built bridges from the ancient to the modern regime and emphasised Catholic social teaching.
Many students made their way to the Vatican for this appearance, including one Edinburgh University student, who told The Student that,
The atmosphere in Rome was so exciting, with the bells in every church ringing as soon as the white smoke came out.
Many Italian students, however, were shocked and less excited about the election of an American Pope.
One Italian student of LUISS Guido Carli told The Student that, “we do not want an American Pope. It is very surprising and concerning because of how the USA has become since Trump was elected, but he speaks very good Italian”.
We do not want an American Pope.
An American studying in Rome, however, said, “we raced over 5 miles on scooters to get here. I am immensely proud to see the first Pope from the US and have high hopes he will bring the US back hand in hand with Europe after so much recent
political division”.
“Cité du Vatican” by isabelle.puaut is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.