"Habemus Papam!": U.S.-born Cardinal Robert Prevost elected as Pope

The new pope is Robert Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo - the first American pontiff to be elected leader of the Catholic Church.

Prevost, 69, was greeted with huge cheers from thousands gathered in St Peter's Square

"May peace be with all of you," he said from the Vatican balcony.

Pope Leo, appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica around 70 minutes after white smoke billowed from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel signifying the 133 cardinal electors had chosen a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.

The choice of Prevost was announced by French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti with the Latin words "Habemus Papam" (We have a pope) to tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear the news.

Originally from Chicago, Prevost has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and became a cardinal only in 2023.

He has given few media interviews and rarely speaks in public.

Leo becomes the 267th Catholic pope after the death last month of Pope Francis, who was the first Latin American pope and had led the Church for 12 years and widely sought to open the staid institution up to the modern world.

Francis enacted a range of reforms and allowed debate on divisive issues such as women's ordination and better inclusion of LGBT Catholics.