On Thursday, May 8th, the 2025 Papal Conclave came to an end. With the end of the Conclave came the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who took on the name Pope Leo XIV. A tradition that has lasted over 2,000 years, he was named the first Pope to be born in the United States.
How the Papal Conclave works
After the death of Pope Francis on April 21st, a Papal Conclave was held to elect the successor to the Pope. When the Conclave is held, Cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. Out of 251 total cardinals, 133 were eligible to vote. For the lucky 133, they took their station in the sistine chapel and were locked in until the new Pope was elected. The Cardinals vote via paper ballot for any of the other Cardinals. Though all 133 were eligible to receive votes, there are a select few that are named “papabili” which is the plural for papabile, Italian for “pope-able.” Even though these Cardinals are viewed as the most likely to become Pope, that is not always the case. In recent history, Pius XII, Paul VI, and Benedict XVI were all elected and were not deemed to be papabili going into the conclave. In order to elect a new Pope, the Cardinals must come to a 2/3 agreement. When this happens, the famous white smoke comes out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
Pope Leo’s background
Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, was born in Chicago in 1955. He lived and grew up in an Illinois suburb outside of Chicago, where he was born into a Catholic family. He attended St. Augustine Seminary High School in Michigan, where he was an exemplary student, and was the Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook. After high school, he enrolled in Tolentine College, but when it closed that same year, he enrolled in Villanova University. After becoming a priest, he went to do missionary work in Peru. He worked in Peru for some time, climbing the Catholic hierarchy. After honest work in Peru, he was appointed the position of Bishop of Chiclayo in 2014 by Pope Francis. Going into the Papal Conclave, he was seen as more of a dark horse candidate to be elected. Though he was still considered a papabili, he was by no means the front-runner, in part due to his American heritage.
