Former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States was selected Thursday by the papal conclave to succeed Pope Francis and lead the Roman Catholic Church. The new pontiff, who has taken the name Leo XIV,

White smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel on the evening of Thursday, May 8, signaling that the Vatican has elected a new Pope. After a short wait, Cardinal Dominique François Joseph Mamberti stepped out onto the balcony overlooking St.