We Can't Believe We're Writing This, but We Finally Got an American Pope

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, became the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State in 2013, a position he held until his death at age 88 on April 21, 2025. The late pope's memorial service was conducted five days later. Traditionally, the conclave begins 15 to 20 days after the death of a pope, which in this case was May 7, 2025.

On that day, the College of Cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel, where they would be sequestered until they elected a new pope. This sacred ceremony is done via secret ballot, but that doesn't mean the frontrunners were kept under wraps. Four names were at the top of everyone's list, and not a single one was American. This begs the question: Has there ever been an American pope?

In short, there had never been an American Pope, until now. The late Pope Francis was the first South American to hold the position.

According to Catholic.com, church history and demographics are the two major factors why an American Pope had never been selected. Church history and demographics are two key reasons.

The majority of Catholic Church history has been centered in Western Europe, specifically in Rome, per the outlet. Additionally, Archbishop John McCloskey from New York became the first American cardinal in 1875 — if you are not a cardinal, the likelihood of being elected Pope is slim to none, and cardinals have been the selectors of the Pope since 1059.

Clearly, no one was interested in spending any lengthy amount of time locked in the Sistine Chapel because the day after the conclave started, white smoke was seen billowing from the chapel's chimney. To everyone's shock and surprise, an American was announced as the next pope. No really, it's wild.

Cardinal Robert Prevost from the great city of Chicago will be the next pope, reported PBS. The 69-year-old spent much of his career doing missionary work in Peru and was long thought of as a leading candidate, if it weren't for his nationality. He took the name Leo XIV and appeared on the loggia of St. Peter’s Square wearing the traditional red cape of the papacy. Back in 2013, Pope Francis decided to skip the cape, but these are different times.

Pope Leo XIV greeted the ecstatic crowd by saying "peace be with you," then thanked his 'brother cardinals" who have chosen him to be a "successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a united church, always seeking peace and justice," per The New York Times. He kept returning to the concept of peace and emphasized the need to build bridges. He also thanked the late Pope Francis, who elevated him to a cardinal in 2023. Chants of "Leo, Leo, Leo" were heard ringing from the crowd.