Pope Leo XIV Election in Photos

By Kit Doyle · May 8, 2025

Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8, 2025, at the Vatican. Prevost has taken the name Pope Leo XIV.

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

People wave flags 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)

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 the successor of the late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

People watch a giant screen showing Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa taking oath inside the Sistine Chapel during the cardinals' conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Swiss Guards march after a new pope was elected when 133 cardinals gathered on the second day of the conclave to select a successor to the late Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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)

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

People in St. Peter's Square await the announcement of the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (RNS photo/Aleja Hertzler-McCain)

Tables and chairs line the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in preparation for the conclave in early May 2025. (Photo © Vatican Media)

Faithful hold a banner 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)

FILE - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, pictured at the Vatican, Sept. 30, 2023, has been elected the 267th pope on May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)

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)

Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after his election, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Spanish nuns gather near the Vatican, in Rome, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, on the day cardinals sequester themselves at the Vatican for the start of a conclave to elect the 267th Roman pontiff, a successor to Pope Francis. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Faithful react as 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. (RNS photo/Aleja Hertzler-McCain)

Cardinals following 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/Andrew Medichini)

Visitors await a smoke signal near St. Peter’s Square, rear, on the first day of the conclave, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (RNS photo/Tom Reese)

The official Vatican document attesting the acceptance by Pope Leo XIV, formerly, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, of his election, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Vatican Media)

Faithful watch a giant screen showing images of cardinals entering the conclave, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Tables and chairs line the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in preparation for the conclave in early May 2025. (Photo © Vatican Media)

A nun holds a US flag during the speech of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A man gives the last touch to a red drape wrapped around a column of the central lodge of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Monday, May 5, 2025, before the conclave starting on May 7, where cardinals will elect the 267th pontiff of the Catholic Church. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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