Kinshasa May 9th, 2025 (CPA) – Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th Pope under the name of Leon XIV on the second day of the conclave in the Sistine Chapel, the international media have reported. ‘Habemus papam’, “We have a Pope”, has announced Monsignor Dominique Mamberti.
‘I would like to thank Pope Francis, and also the cardinals who elected me. I am a son of Saint Augustine’, has declared the new Pope. Speaking for the first time, the new Pope Leon XIV launched an appeal for peace to all peoples: ‘Dear brothers and sisters, I would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, your families. I am speaking to all peoples, to the whole world: peace is with you’, he has added. He has also called on us to build bridges through dialogue, to move forward without fear, united hand in hand with God and with each other. ‘God loves you all and evil will not win. We are all in God’s hands. We must be united, hand in hand, with God, not afraid.
We must go forward. Christ has gone before us, the world needs his light’, has said Pope Leon XIV. According to sources, Archbishop Robert Francis Prevost, 69, is a discreet, almost shy man of God. He has led a daring missionary life, first as a priest in Peru, in the ancient Inca lands, then as bishop in this South American country covering part of the Amazon rainforest and twice the size of France. He was almost an exception, as there are very few US nationals in the Latin American episcopate. In 2023, Pope Francis called him to Rome to head the powerful disaster responsible for selecting the world’s bishops. Created a cardinal that year, this religious of the Order of Saint Augustine – which since its foundation in the 13th century has followed the rule of the famous author of the Confessions – has had a highly atypical career.
Trump congratulates Pope Leon XIV and speaks of a ‘great honor’ for the United States.
For his part, US President Donald Trump has congratulated Pope Leon XIV on his election as head of the Catholic Church and has said it was ‘a tremendous honor to know that he is the first American pope’. ‘What a thrill and what a great honor for our country, I can’t wait to meet Pope Leon XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment,’ he has said.