White smoke. Habemus papam. Before a throng of thousands gathered in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica, red velvet curtains opened on the basilica’s balcony. A golden crucifix was carried out, followed by three men: in the centre was cardinal Robert Prevost, the man elected by his fellow cardinals to be the next pope. The 69-year-old Prevost replaces Francis--who passed away on 21 April--as head of the Catholic Church. He has chosen the papal name Leo XIV.
“Peace be with you all, dear brothers and sisters,” the new pope said in Italian, addressing the crowd from the balcony. “This is the first greeting of the risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for the flock of God. I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families, to all people wherever they are, to all the earth. Peace be with you.”
We must seek to be “a church that builds bridges and dialogue,” he added, “always open to receive--like this square--with open arms to all those who need our charity, our presence.” The words seem to indicate that he would build on his predecessor’s ambitions and progressive reforms.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, speaking to crowds from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy. Screengrab of Vatican Media livestream, 8 May 2025
The first North American pope, Prevost will be the 267th bishop of Rome. Born in Chicago, he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in the city of Saint Louis in 1977 and studied at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. In 1988, he was sent to the mission of Trujillo as director of the joint formation project for Augustinian aspirants in the vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos and Apurímac in Peru, according to the Vatican’s website. After 11 years in Peru, he then returned to Chicago. Pope Francis in 2014 appointed him apostolic administrator of the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, elevating him to bishop. In 2023, Francis named Prevost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
The Catholic Church counts some 1.3bn members worldwide.
A carried out by the national statistics institute Statec and published in 2023 found that people in Luxembourg who identify with traditional religious beliefs and practices, particularly Catholicism, fell from 75% in 2008 to 48% in 2021. “Affiliation to a religious denomination concerned less than half of respondents (48%). Amongst these, the Catholic religion is largely dominant, totalling 85.3% of religious affiliations,” said the report. “In the total population, Catholics represent 41% of the population surveyed.”