Key dates in the life and ministry of Pope Leo XIV, elected May 8, 2025, as the 266th successor to St. Peter.

Pope Leo, 69, formerly Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, is the first pope from the United States. He assumes the chair of Peter with multifaceted leadership experience: He grew up in the Midwest, graduated from Augustinian-run Villanova University in 1977 with a math degree, ministered as a bishop in Peru, and led the Vatican dicastery that helps appoint, form and retire bishops.

Many of the approximately 100 people who gathered at a cathedral adorned with yellow and white papal bunting expressed shock at the election of an American pope. But there was also a sense of excitement.

President Donald Trump on May 8 congratulated Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, who was elected the 267th pope the same day, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.

Even before he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and spoke May 8, Pope Leo XIV’s choice of a name was a powerful statement.

Cardinal Robert F. Prevost has selected the name Pope Leo XIV, an apparent nod to Pope Leo XIII, who deserves to be called the founding father of Catholic social doctrine in modern times, with his encyclical “Rerum Novarum” as its foundational document.

As French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti announced to the world May 8 that Cardinal Robert F. Prevost had been elected as the successor to Pope Francis, Archbishop William E. Lori and several of his closest advisors appeared visibly stunned.

Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, was elected the 267th pope May 8 and took the name Pope Leo XIV.

The 133 cardinals decided May 8 after less than a day of voting on a new pope to lead the Catholic Church.

The smoke meant that the 133 cardinals in the conclave had not given one candidate at least 89 votes, the two-thirds necessary for the election of a pope.