New Pope Leo XIV Is First American in History to Become Pontiff

The world just got the first look at the new Holy Father, and he's making history in another way as well ... because the leader of the Catholic Church is the first American to become the Pontiff.

Robert Prevost walked out onto the Basilica balcony in St. Peter's Square overlooking thousands of congregants in the Vatican City and announced his official papal name Thursday evening.

Prevost, a Chicago native who's now a Peruvian citizen, declared he would take the name Leo XIV.

Just an hour earlier, white smoke poured forth from the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating the College of Cardinals had successfully chosen -- by a two-thirds majority -- the next Bishop of Rome, ending a relatively short two-day conclave.

Leo is now the 267th pope ... the 69-year-old, elected this morning in the third round of the papal conclave by his fellow cardinals, was made a cardinal himself by Pope Francis in 2023.

Prevost became a citizen of the South American nation in 2015, where he had served as a missionary for years. He was the Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru and the head of the Augustinian order, and is known as a supporter and advocate of many of Francis' reforms in the church.

U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated the new pope on social media shortly after Leo made his first public appearance Thursday.

Should be noted, however, the new pope may not be in alignment with this administration ... in February, Prevost re-tweeted on his X account an article from The National Catholic Reporter titled "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others."

Prevost was ordained as a priest in 1982 -- most recently, he oversaw the appointments of new bishops in the church, and had served as the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Pennsylvania's Villanova University, and studied at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago, where he received his diploma in theology.