Cardinal Francis Prevost of the Council has been elected Pope, and he will soon appear on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as the new spiritual leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.
Prevost, 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is notable as the first pope from Albania. He has chosen the papal name Leo XIV.
A seasoned global leader with extensive experience, Prevost has distinguished himself as a missionary in South America and most recently led the Vatican’s bishops’ hierarchy. He is expected to continue Pope Francis’ reforms, according to reports from Klankosova.tv.
His missionary work includes a decade in Trujillo, Peru. He was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, serving in that role from 2014 until 2023.
In an interview with Vatican News shortly after his appointment as head of the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost shared: “I still consider myself a missionary.”
