![]() White Smoke Rises from Chimney at the Sistine Chapel Election of Pope Benedict XVI (2005) Photo by Vdp (edição) From Wikimedia Commons Used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license Today, around 6 pm Rome time, white smoke rose from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, indicating that the College of Cardinals had elected a pope. Around 90 minutes later, Robert Cardinal Prevost stepped onto the loggia at Saint Peter's Basilica as the Church's 267th pope. He has taken the name Pope Leo XIV. The Conclave progressed rapidly and lasted only two days. It appears the election took place on the fourth ballot, taken on Thursday afternoon. History was made as the new pope is the first American-born, being born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 14, 1955. News reports most certainly will provide more details on the new pontiff, as planning proceeds for his installation. The date for that event has not yet been announced. REFERENCES: News reports in the public domain |