Robert Francis Prevost, who has taken the name Leo XIV, elected new pope

Habemus papam. On Thursday evening, shortly after 6PM Central European Summer Time, white smoke billowed from the chimney installed on the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, announcing that a new pope had been elected.

The crowd waiting in front of St Peter's Basilica erupted in cheers and waved to the cameras and spectators after seeing the smoke rise.

The "proto-diacon" cardinal Dominique Mamberti then appeared on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica to announce the name of the new pope as well as the name under which he will begin his papacy: the American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who has chosen to call himself Leo XIV.

Born in Chicago, the 69-year-old is the first American pope in history.

He was made cardinal by the late Francis in 2023.

A little more than an hour passed between the white smoke and the announcement of the new pope.

Leo XIV was elected in the evening of the second day of the conclave, after two inconclusive rounds of voting in the morning, signalled by black smoke emanating from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

The new pontiff and successor to the late Pope Francis needed to obtain a two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, in order to be elected by the 133 cardinals eligible to vote.