Robert Prevost, first pope from US in history of the Catholic Church, takes the name Leo XIV

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic cardinals broke with tradition Thursday and elected the first U.S. pope, making Chicago-born missionary Robert Prevost the 267th pontiff to lead the Catholic Church in a moment of global turmoil and conflict.

Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious order who spent his career ministering in Peru, took the name Leo XIV.

In his first words as Pope Francis’ successor, uttered from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo said, “Peace be with you," and emphasized a message of "a disarmed and disarming peace" dialogue and missionary evangelization.

He wore the traditional red cape and trappings of the papacy — a cape that Francis had eschewed on his election in 2013 — suggesting a return to some degree of tradition after Francis' unorthodox pontificate. But in naming himself Leo, the new pope could also have wanted to signal a strong line of continuity: Brother Leo was the 13th century friar who was a great companion to St. Francis of Assisi, the late pope's namesake.

“Together, we must try to find out how to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, establishes dialogue, that’s always open to receive — like on this piazza with open arms — to be able to receive everybody that needs our charity, our presence, dialogue and love,” Leo said in near-perfect Italian.

Prevost had been a leading candidate for the papacy, but there had long been a taboo against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power the country already wields. But Prevost was seemingly eligible because he’s also a Peruvian citizen and had lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as bishop, and cardinals may have thought the 21st century world order could handle a U.S.-born pope.

Francis, history's first Latin American pope, clearly had his eye on Prevost and in many ways saw him as his heir apparent. He sent Prevost to take over a complicated diocese in Peru, then brought him to the Vatican in 2023 to serve as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. Earlier this year, Francis elevated Prevost into the senior ranks of cardinals, giving him prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals had.

Since arriving in Rome, Prevost has kept a low public profile but was well-known to the men who count. Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope.

Prevost's brother, John Prevost, described his brother as being very concerned for the poor and those who don't have a voice, saying he expects him to be a “second Pope Francis.”

“He’s not going to be real far left and he’s not going to be real far right," he added. "Kind of right down the middle.”

The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers Thursday when white smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel shortly after 6 p.m. on the second day of the conclave, the most geographically diverse in history. Priests made the sign of the cross and nuns wept as the crowd shouted, “Viva il papa!”

Waving flags from around the world, tens of thousands of people waited for more than an hour to learn who had won and were surprised an hour later, when the senior cardinal deacon appeared on the loggia, said “Habemus Papam!” — “We have a pope!” in Latin — and announced the winner was Prevost.

He spoke to the crowd in Italian and Spanish, but not English, honoring Pope Francis and his final salute to the crowd on Easter Sunday.

“Greetings ... to all of you, and in particular, to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith,” he said in Spanish.

U.S. President Donald Trump said it was “such an honor for our country” for the new pope to be American.

“What greater honor can there be?” he said. The president added that “we’re a little bit surprised and we’re happy.”

The last pope to take the name Leo was Leo XIII, an Italian who led the church from 1878 to 1903. That Leo softened the church’s confrontational stance toward modernity, especially science and politics and laid the foundation for modern Catholic social thought. His most famous encyclical, Rerum Novarum of 1891, addressed workers’ rights and capitalism at the beginning of the industrial revolution and was highlighted by the Vatican in explaining the new pope's choice of name.

Vatican watchers said Prevost's decision to name himself Leo was particularly significant given the previous Leo's legacy of social justice and reform, suggesting continuity with some of Francis' chief concerns.

“He is continuing a lot of Francis’ ministry,’’ said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, the chair of religious studies at Manhattan University in the Bronx. But Imperatori-Lee also said his election could send a message to the U.S. church, which has been badly divided between conservatives and progressives, with much of the right-wing opposition to Francis coming from there.

"I think it is going to be exciting to see a different kind of American Catholicism in Rome,’’ Imperatori-Lee said.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, told reporters he never thought he would see an American pope, given the questions of how an one would navigate dealing with a U.S. president, especially Trump.

“How is it that the Holy Father is able to deal with President Trump, for example — whoever our American president? Would those ties be too close or too distant?" he said. "And so I just never imagined that we would have an American pope, and I have great confidence that Pope Leo will do a wonderful job of navigating that.”

Leo was expected to celebrate Mass with cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on Friday, planned to deliver his first Sunday noon blessing from the loggia of St. Peter's and lined up an audience with the media Monday in the Vatican auditorium, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

Beyond that, he has a possible first foreign trip at the end of May: Francis had been invited to travel to Turkey to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, a landmark event in Christian history and an important moment in Catholic-Orthodox relations. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, welcomed Leo's election and said he hoped he would join the anniversary celebration.

The new pope was formerly the prior general, or leader, of the Order of St. Augustine, which was formed in the 13th century as a community of “mendicant” friars — dedicated to poverty, service and evangelization. Vatican News said Leo is the first Augustinian pope.

Prevost's election thrilled American students studying in Rome who happened to be in St. Peter's Square to witness history.

“That’s the first American pope in history. How exciting!” said Alessandra Jarrett, a 21-year-old political science student at Rome’s John Cabot university. “Crazy that we’re able to be here and see it, and this was even our last day in school.”

Sister Bernadette, a 50-year-old nun from Houston, Texas, was studying spirituality in Rome at the same university where Prevost did graduate studies, the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the Angelicum.

“He touched the heart of everyone, and he acknowledged the great work of Francis, which he wants to continue embracing the world and embracing all of our brothers and sisters in Christ,” she said.

Francis moved Prevost from the Augustinian leadership back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and later bishop of Chiclayo.

He remained in that position, acquiring Peruvian citizenship in 2015, until Francis brought him to Rome in 2023 to assume both the bishops' dossier and the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. In that job he would have kept in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in the part of the world that counts the most Catholics. Counting North, Central and South America, the region had 37 cardinal electors going into the conclave.

The bells of the cathedral in Peru’s capital of Lima and at Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago tolled after Prevost’s election was announced. People outside the Lima cathedral said they wanted Prevost to visit.

“For us Peruvians, it is a source of pride that this is a pope who represents our country,” said elementary school teacher Isabel Panez, who happened to be near the cathedral when the news was announced. “We would like him to visit us here in Peru.”

Giada Zampano, Helena Alves in Rome, Franklin Briceno in Lima, Peru and Colleen Barry in Schiavon, Italy contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

This story has corrected the number of Augustinian popes. Vatican News says Pope Leo XIV is the first Augustinian pope, not the seventh.

Sor Clara a nun from Peru prays during the speech of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Faithful celebrate after white smoke appeared from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals gathered on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Nuns react during the speech of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

People react as the newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People react as the newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, left, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican shortly after his election as the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Faithful holds an American flag following the election of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Crowds cheer in St. Peter's square after the election of the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti announces the election of Cardinal Robert F. Prevost as the 267th pope, choosing the name of Pope Leone XIV, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

People react after Cardinal Dominique Mamberti announced the election of Cardinal Robert F. Prevost as the 267th pope, choosing the name of Pope Leo XIV, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Newly elected Pope Leone XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

FILE - New Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, stands for a portrait at the end of the consistory where Pope Francis elevated 21 new cardinals in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)

People react as white smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

People react as white smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

People watch as white smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Faithful hold a banner reading "Up with the pope", after white smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

White smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People watch as the black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A woman takes selfie with nuns at St. Peter's Square where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect successor of late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the conclave to elect a successor of late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

A drone flies as black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A view of St. Peter's Square during the conclave to elect a successor of late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People at St. Peter's square wait to see smoke pour from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

People arrive at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican where 133 cardinals gather on the second day of the conclave to elect successor of late Pope Francis, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A drone used for TV broadcast is attacked by a seagull above St. Peter's Square where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect successor of late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

People at St. Peter's square wait to see smoke pour from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where 133 cardinals are gathering on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the cardinals' conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

People wait for the smoke billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, where 133 cardinals are gathering on the first day of the conclave, indicating that a successor of late Pope Francis was elected or not, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Having proved they could win as a favorite without ex-coach Lane Kiffin in the first round of the College Football Playoff, the No. 6 Mississippi Rebels face a tougher test against No. 3 Georgia in a quarterfinal matchup at the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.

Georgia (12-1, CFP No. 3 seed) was the only team this season to defeat Ole Miss (12-1, CFP No. 6 seed) when they met in Athens, Georgia, on Oct. 18. But that game was a thriller, with the Rebels leading after three quarters before the Bulldogs stormed back with 17 unanswered points in the fourth for a 43-35 victory.

The winner of the rematch moves on to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 for a CFP semifinal against 10th-seeded Miami, which defeated Ohio State, 24-14, in the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday night.

For the Georgia Bulldogs and coach Kirby Smart, last year’s Sugar Bowl brought a heavy dose of sadness that had more to do with life — and the loss of it — than football.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2025, Georgia players and coaches were in a hotel just a few blocks up Canal Street from where an attacker turned right onto Bourbon Street and plowed his truck into pedestrians — killing 14 — before dying in a shootout with police.

After the Sugar Bowl was delayed by a day, causing a number of traveling fans to miss the game, Georgia lost to Notre Dame. Then Smart’s father, Sonny, who’d injured his hip in a fall on New Year’s Eve, died in a New Orleans-area hospital from complications during surgery.

This year, there was a considerable law enforcement presence in New Orleans in the days before the Sugar Bowl, including numerous National Guard soldiers posted in groups on corners of the historic French Quarter.

The Rebels, who are in the CFP for the first time, went 11-1 during the regular season before Kiffin left for LSU on Nov. 30.

Kiffin was replaced by Pete Golding, a feisty defensive coordinator who made his head-coaching debut in a 41-10 rout of Tulane in the CFP’s first round.

Golding also happens to be from Hammond, Louisiana, across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, and he was eager to have a sizeable contingent of Ole Miss fans, family and friends behind his team in the Superdome.

While Georgia has been a perennial powerhouse and has won two national titles under Smart in 2021 and 2022, the Rebels exceeded expectations as quarterback Trinidad Chambliss became one of the most compelling stories in college football.

Chambliss was a transfer from Division II Ferris State who came in as an injury replacement in September and kept the starting job, passing for 3,298 yards and 19 TDs to go with 506 yards and eight TDs rushing.

Georgia QB Gunner Stockton, who made his first career start as an injury replacement himself during last years' Sugar Bowl, also had a strong season, passing for 2,691 yards and 23 TDs while also rushing for 442 yards and eight TDs.

Last season, Stockton backed up Carson Beck, who has since transferred to Miami. The Hurricanes' victory in the Cotton Bowl meant Georgia could go against their former star QB by advancing out of the Sugar Bowl.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Mississippi head coach Pete Golding and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart shake hands and laugh at the end of a joint press conference for the upcoming Sugar Bowl and college football playoff (CFP) quarterfinal game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)