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Profiles
Profiles of popes and cardinals: careers, responsibilities, positions taken and their place in the Church.
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· 8 min read
Portrait of Leo XIV: American Pope, Between Reform and Continuity
White smoke rose this Thursday, May 8, at 6:07 PM above the Sistine Chapel, announcing to the world that the 133 cardinal electors had chosen a new successor to Saint Peter. A few minutes later, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti proclaimed from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica the traditional formula: "Habemus Papam" – "We have a Pope". The conclave's choice fell on American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV, thus becoming the 267th pope of the Catholic Church.