- Pope Francis passed away at 88 years old in Vatican City on April 21, 2025.
- A conclave with the College of Cardinals began on May 7.
- On May 8, the next pope was announced, and Leo XIV appeared.
It’s a new era for the Catholic Church as the new Pope is revealed to the world! Pope Francis passed away on April 21, 2025, and the search for his replacement began.
The papal conclave started on May 7, and it didn’t take long. On May 8, the new Pope, Robert Prevost, made his first appearance on St. Peter’s Balcony.
White Smoke Emerges from the Vatican on May 8, Pope Leo XIV Appears
On May 8, the white smoke appeared from the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.
After an hour, the next Pope, Leo XIV, made his first public appearance.
Leo XIV is Robert Prevost, who is 69 years old. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, making Prevost the first American Pope in history. He was a missionary in South American and a bishop in Peru, where Prevost became a naturalized citizen in 2015.
Prevost was named the Prevost prefect for the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023. He was close to Pope Francis, who made Prevost cardinal-bishop in February 2025. He is expected to largely build on the work done by Francis, who was Pope from March 2013 to his death in April 2025.
Now, he’ll be the next Pope, and Prevost took the papal name, Leo XIV. He is the first Leo since Leo XIII, who was Pope from February 1878 to July 1903.
Were the Next Pope Odds Correct?
Leo XIV was well down the board in the next Pope odds as he was +1400 at online sportsbooks. As for papal names, Leo was +600 before the lines were taken off the board. North America would have been the winning continent, although as a dual American-Peruvian citizen, sportsbooks would have had to make a choice.
Prevost was definitely not high on anyone’s board, but if you took a flier on the 69-year-old from Chicago, you would have made it out great!
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