By Alie Sonta Kamara
The Roman Catholic Church has elected American cardinal Robert Prevost to be the fold’s 267th pope since 70 AD.
He took the name Pope Leo XIV, succeeding Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88 in the early morning of 21 April 2025, Easter Monday. He made his last public appearance the day before, on Easter Sunday.
It took 133 cardinals from more than 70 countries to decide the next pope.
Pope Francis was elected in 2013 on the fifth ballot, while Benedict XVI won in 2005 on the fourth. He reshaped the modern papacy by rejecting its pomp and privilege, but his push to make the Catholic Church more inclusive and less judgmental drew fierce opposition from conservatives longing for tradition.
The name a pope chooses will signal the direction he wants to take the Church.
Pope Leo XIV will lead the one point four billion Catholic population.
