Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the head of the Catholic Church on the second day of voting in the Vatican, the first US national ever to take the role.
Prevost, 69, was born in Chicago but spent much of his life outside the US, mostly in Peru and Rome.
He is believed to be a good potential interlocutor with Donald Trump, but may clash with him on migration policies. He has chosen the name of Leo XIV.
The new pope was chosen during the conclave, a closely guarded process where 133 cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel to pick the next pontiff.
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