AP PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the US is also a Peruvian citizen

Pope Francis brought Robert Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. On Thursday, he ascended to become Pope Leo XIV — the first pope from the U.S.

Prevost, 69, had to overcome the taboo against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States in the secular sphere.

The Chicago native is also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Pope Leo XIV, then Apostolic Administrator of Chiclayo Robert Prevost, preaches during a Corpus Christi celebration in a stadium in Chiclayo, Peru, Friday, June 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Julio Reano)

Pope Leo XIV, then Apostolic Administrator of Chiclayo Robert Prevost, attends a Corpus Christi celebration at a stadium in Chiclayo, Peru, Friday, June 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Julio Reano)

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)

FILE - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, poses for a photo 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)

FILE - Newly elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, right, receives his biretta from Pope Francis as he is elevated in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, file)

FILE - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, leads the recitation of the Holy Rosary for Pope Francis' health in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's protesting university students on Sunday collected signatures throughout the country for their request for an early parliamentary election that they hope would oust the autocratic government of President Aleksandar Vucic from office.

Braving freezing weather, the students set up nearly 500 stands in dozens of cities, towns and villages in the Balkan country for residents to sign the election demand, which isn't a formal petition. Students have said that Sunday’s action was meant to put further pressure on Vucic and as a test of support.

Young protesters have been at the forefront of a nationwide movement against Vucic's populist rule in Serbia. More than a year of street protests first started in November 2024 after a train station disaster that killed 16 people.

The concrete canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad was widely blamed on alleged rampant corruption and disregard of construction and safety rules during renovation work at the station. No one has been held responsible for the tragedy.

Vucic has refused to schedule an immediate early vote, but has suggested that it could be held sometime next year. Both parliamentary and presidential elections are otherwise due in 2027.

“We have stands that serve to connect with the citizens," said Igor Dojnov, a student manning one of the points in central Belgrade.

Youth-led protests during the past year have shaken Vucic more than ever during his 13-year-long tenure. Serbia's populist prime minister resigned in January, and Vucic later launched a crackdown on protesters that also drew international criticism.

While street protests have subsided, discontent with Vucic's government is believed to be widespread.

Milca Cankovic Kadijevic, a resident of Belgrade, said that she supported the students, because “I have a desire to live decently — me, my children and my grandchildren."

Vucic has formally promised to take Serbia into the European Union, but he has maintained close links with Russia and China, while facing accusations of clamping down on democratic freedoms and allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish.

He has denied this, and accused the protesters of attempting to orchestrate a “color revolution” under unspecified orders from the West. The term “color revolution” has been used to describe a series of mass protests at the beginning of the 21st century that sometimes led to the toppling of governments in the former Soviet Union states, the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Asia.

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People stand in silence to commemorate the 16 victims, killed after a railway concrete canopy fell in Nov. 2024 while Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures throughout the country for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)