The conclave has elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, an American-born cleric, as the new popeNow the 267th pontiff, he will be known as Pope Leo XIV as he assumes the mantle of spiritual leadership over more than 1.

Robert Prevost, a missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and leads the Vatican's powerful office of bishops, was elected the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

Robert Francis Prevost, a Villanova University graduate and a Chicago native, was chosen as the first American pope in history to lead the Catholic church