World leaders on Thursday (May 8) welcomed the election of Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, who becomes the first leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics from the United States.
Prevost, 69, is a dual US-Peruvian citizen who worked for decades in the north of Peru, first as a missionary and later as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.
He succeeds Pope Francis, who had led the Catholic Church since 2013.
US President Donald Trump congratulated the new pope and said it was “a great honour” for the country.
“I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment,” he added.
Former US president Barack Obama congratulated the “fellow Chicagoan”, and said: “This is a historic day for the United States, and we will pray for him as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church and setting an example for so many, regardless of faith.”
