Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. (AP Photo)Papal Conclave 2025 Live Updates: US Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday and has taken the name Pope Leo XIV a senior cardinal announced to crowds in St. Peter’s Square. White smoke was seen emerging from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican just moments back.
Black Smoke Seen Earlier: Earlier in the day, black smoke was again seen pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating that no pope was elected on second or third ballots of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church. The smoke billowed out at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday after the morning voting session to elect a successor to Pope Francis to lead the 1.4 billion-member church.
How is the new pope elected? During the vote to elect a new pope, each cardinal would write a name of his choice on a paper with the words “I elect as Supreme Pontiff.” Thereafter, the cardinals would approach the altar one after the other and say, “I call as my witness, Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.” The ballots which are folded are placed on a round plate and tipped into an oval silver and gold urn.
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