His tally was rising with each round of voting, while support for the early front-runner—Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin—was stagnating. A realization weighed visibly on Prevost, said three cardinals who watched his reaction: He was on track to become the 267th pope of the global Catholic Church,

One cardinal who cast his ballot said the pope’s choice of the papal name Leo might signal a particular interest in workers’ rights.

To many, Pope Leo XIV seemed a different sort of American, a man who served the poor of Peru for decades, who spoke Spanish and Italian, and who was close to Pope Francis.

Eighteen days after Pope Francis last appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, his successor -- the 267th pope -- emerged.

A new pope will be selected when a candidate gets a two-thirds-plus-one majority vote by the cardinal electors. White smoke will be sent up the chimney of the Sistine Chapel when that happens, to indicate a new pope has been chosen.

Black smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, meaning that cardinals did not elect a new pope on the first day of the conclave.