For the first time in the nearly 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church, a cardinal from the United States has been elected pope. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica today as the 267th pontiff, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.

The announcement came as white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney, drawing loud cheers and tears of joy from tens of thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

In his first words to the global congregation, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed, “Peace be with you all.” He paid homage to his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, and called for unity, compassion, and peace. “Let us show our charity to others and be in dialogue with love,” he urged, visibly emotional.

A 69-year-old former missionary and bishop in Peru, Prevost has long been considered a bridge-builder within the global Church. He spent over a decade in South America and held a Peruvian passport since 2015. His dual experience in North and South America helped ease traditional Vatican concerns about electing an American due to the United States’ political influence.

“I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is,” Pope Leo said in an earlier interview with Vatican News.

Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb remarked, “I thought today he seemed overjoyed in some ways and sort of had received the grace of the office… He’s more of someone who wants to prepare before he speaks, but what he says has a very strong impact.”

Francesca, a Roman lawyer present in the square, described the moment as “epic” and expressed hope for a pope who embodies “reconciliation and diplomacy.”

The conclave’s swift election mirrored recent papal successions, concluding on the second day of voting. Among the celebrants was U.S. President Donald Trump, who called Prevost’s election “a Great Honor for our Country.”

Pope Leo XIV, fluent in several languages, addressed the crowd in Italian, Spanish, and English. As the band played and the Swiss Guard stood in ceremony, the world watched a new chapter in Catholic history begin.