Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th pope on Thursday by 133 cardinals to guide the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. The primary pope from the US, he selected the title Leo XIV.
Right here’s what to know in regards to the new pope, how he was chosen and the problems he’ll face because the successor to Pope Francis, who died last month at 88.
Who’s the brand new pope?
Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was born in Chicago and served for 20 years in Peru, the place he turned a bishop and a naturalized citizen, then rose to guide his worldwide non secular order. Till the demise of his predecessor, Pope Francis, he held probably the most influential Vatican posts, operating the workplace that selects and manages bishops globally.
A member of the Order of St. Augustine, he resembles Francis in his dedication to the poor and migrants, and to assembly folks the place they’re. He instructed the Vatican’s official information web site final 12 months that “the bishop will not be alleged to be slightly prince sitting in his kingdom.”
He has spent a lot of his life exterior the US. Ordained in 1982 at 27, he obtained a doctorate in canon regulation on the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. In Peru, he was a missionary, parish priest, trainer and bishop. Because the Augustinians’ chief, he visited orders all over the world. He additionally speaks Spanish and Italian.
Who selected the brand new pope?
Francis’ successor was chosen in a conclave that started on Could 7. Cardinals, often called the “princes of the church,” rank just under the pope within the Roman Catholic Church; collectively, they’re often called the College of Cardinals. There are at present 252 cardinals. Solely these underneath the age of 80 are eligible to vote, and there are 135 of them, the most important quantity within the church’s historical past. Pope Francis appointed about 80 p.c of them.
When a pope dies or steps down — which is uncommon — the faculty chooses a successor. The cardinals forged repeated votes till there’s a two-thirds majority. After each vote, the poll papers are burned in a range, together with an additive that produces a coloration. The smoke is launched by way of a chimney that may be seen from St. Peter’s Sq., the place crowds usually collect to observe and wait. If a vote ends and not using a two-thirds majority, the smoke is black. When a choice is reached, the smoke is white.
How lengthy does it take to decide on a brand new pope?
The size of papal conclaves has diverse broadly over the centuries. Since 1900, this has been the fifth pope to be elected in two days.
The longest conclave throughout that point took 14 ballots, lasted 5 days and produced Pope Pius XI in 1922. Francis was elected after two days of voting.
The shortest conclave, the election of Pope Pius XII in 1939, took three ballots. But it surely has not at all times been so fast: The conclave that ended with the election of Pope Gregory X on Sept. 1, 1271, took two years, 9 months and two days.
What are the important thing points within the Catholic Church?
The cardinals needed to determined whether or not to decide on a pope who will comply with Francis’ path of openness and inclusion or choose a pontiff who will forge a distinct one. Throughout his 12-year hold forth, Francis made landmark declarations that inspired liberals, together with permitting the blessing of individuals in same-sex unions and elevating his voice for migrants.
The cardinals who elect the pope generally look as ideologically polarized as many secular voters across the globe. Many conservative Roman Catholic leaders disagreed with Francis.
However the typical divisions between progressives and conservatives don’t correspond so neatly with the ideological battles throughout the Vatican and the broader church. There are complicated debates over the function of ladies and L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics within the church, whether or not clergymen ought to be allowed to marry, accountability for sexual abuse by clergy and different divisive questions.
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