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U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, a senior cardinal announced on May 8 to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican News.
The announcement came hours after white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, the traditional signal that the College of Cardinals had successfully elected a new pope during their conclave. Prevost, originally from Chicago, becomes the first American in history to ascend to the papacy.
President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Pope Leo XIV on social media, saying, “Ukraine deeply values the Holy See’s consistent position in upholding international law, condemning the Russian Federation’s military aggression against Ukraine, and protecting the rights of innocent civilians.”
“At this decisive moment for our country,” Zelensky added, “we hope for the continued moral and spiritual support of the Vatican in Ukraine’s efforts to restore justice and achieve a lasting peace.”
The election follows the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at the age of 88. On May 7, cardinals officially opened the historic conclave in the Vatican to choose the next head of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, was widely lauded by supporters as a reformer who infused the church with compassion and humanity. But his legacy in Ukraine is more complex.
Throughout the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Ukrainians viewed his statements as failing to clearly assign responsibility for the war. His description of Ukrainians and Russians as "brothers" was perceived as painfully out of touch amid Moscow's brutal war and the war crimes that it had committed.
The next person to sit on the papal throne will play a decisive role in shaping how the Catholic Church responds to the moral, social, and political consequences of Europe’s largest war since World War II.
Martin Fornusek
