New Pope live: Pope Leo XIV – American pontiff Robert Prevost to hold first Mass amid claims he’s ‘anti-Trump’

The US President has sent his well wishes to the new American Pope, even though Leo XIV has previously been critical of the president’s policies.

Robert Prevost had previously shared social media posts critical of the White House’s treatment of migrants.

One scathing post he retweeted read: “There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.”

Read the full report below:

The dean of the College of Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re has welcomed the new Pope.

“Leo XIV is a Pope of great spirituality. He will strengthen faith in God in this secularised world,” Re told Italian media.

The 91-year-old cardinal was too old to participate in the conclave, but he led the special pre-conclave Mass and also led the funeral for Pope Francis.

The two-day election of Pope Leo XIV was a short conclave.

But it’s not out of line with other recent papal elections. Read more about that history here:

When white smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel revealing that a new pope had been chosen, John Prevost turned on his television in Illinois, called the new pope’s niece and they watched in awe as his brother’s name was announced.

“She started screaming because it was her uncle and I was in the moment of disbelief that this cannot be possible because it’s too far from what we thought would happen,” Mr Prevost said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press from his home in New Lenox, Illinois.

Next, he said he felt an intense sense of pride that his brother, Cardinal Robert Prevost, had become the 267th pontiff to lead the Catholic Church, making the Chicago-born missionary the first US pope.

“It’s quite an honour; it’s quite a once in a lifetime,” he said. “But I think it’s quite a responsibility and I think it’s going to lead to bigger and better things, but I think people are going to watch him very closely to see what he’s doing.”

John Prevost described his brother as being very concerned for the poor and those who don’t have a voice.

He said he expects him to be a “second Pope Francis.”

“He’s not going to be real far left and he’s not going to be real far right,” he added. “Kind of right down the middle.”

It didn’t take long for right-wing media figures and MAGA provocateurs to cry out in rage over the election of Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV after it was revealed that he’d publicly criticized Vice President JD Vance and expressed sympathy for immigrants and George Floyd.

Despite feeling national pride over the fact that the Chicago-born Prevost has become the first American pope in history, conservative pundits and Trump loyalists fumed over the “WOKE MARXIST POPE” and complained that he is “worse than Francis,” referencing the previous pontiff known for his progressive values.

Even before the “dark horse” American cardinal was elected the 267th pope, former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon warned about Prevost’s views, claiming that he would be a poor choice for the MAGA movement.

Older brother John Prevos has said he often played wordle with his brother Robert Prevost and asked him to watch “Conclave”.

In an interview with NBC, the elder brother of the newly elected pope said he asked if his brother had watched the movie “Conclave” before the start of the papal conclave so he would “know how to behave”.

He said he spoke to his brother right before the Conclave.

“So he knew how to behave. So it’s that kind of stuff, because I wanted to take his mind off of it, laugh about something, because this is now an awesome responsibility,” Mr Prevost said.

He added that the two often played games such as Wordle and Words with Friends together.

“It’s something to keep his mind off of life in the real world,” he said.

The youngest of three brothers, Pope Leo was usually the one who gave advice to his brothers.

“Be yourself, because then he’s got it made,” he said, giving advice to his brother on his papcy.

In his first speech from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV spoke warmly about late Pope Francis and thanked the cardinals who had elected him after two days of voting.

Pope Leo XIV spoke in Italian and Spanish throughout his speech. The following is the full first translated speech of Pope Leo XIV:

Pope Leo XIV will celebrate his first Mass as the leader of the Catholic Church after making history as the first American-born pontiff.

Pope Leo will hold the Mass with cardinals in the Sistine Chapel at 11am (0900 GMT) Friday, during which he will deliver his first homily as pope and will be broadcast live.

He will deliver his first Sunday noon blessing from the loggia of St Peter’s and attend an audience with the media Monday in the Vatican auditorium, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.