New pope to soon emerge on the papal balcony
White smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney at 6:07 p.m. Roman time, alerting the crowd of faithful Catholics gathered in St. Peter's Square that the College of Cardinals have elected a new pope.
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The sign comes on the second day of voting and the fourth vote. It means that the Cardinals reached the two-third majority have decided to elevate one of their ranks to be the head of the church.
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The gathered crowd cheered in elation as the smoke rose on a beautiful Thursday evening in Rome.
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The new pope will soon emerge on the papal balcony, announcing himself and his papal name to the world.
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His papal name will be announced after a top cardinal utters the words 'Habemus Papam!' — Latin for 'We have a pope!' — from the loggia of the basilica. The cardinal will then read the new pope's birth name in Latin and reveals the name he has chosen to be called.
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The new pope is then expected to make his first public appearance and impart a blessing.
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For much of the past century, the conclave has needed between three and 14 ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days in 1978 — was elected on the fourth ballot. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.
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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
What US adults think about Pope Leo XIV, according to a new AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just over a month after Pope Leo XIV became the first U.S.-born pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church, a new poll shows that American Catholics are feeling excited about their new religious leader. About two-thirds of American Catholics have a 'very' or 'somewhat' favorable view of Pope Leo, according to the new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, while about 3 in 10 don't know enough to have an opinion. Very few Catholics — less than 1 in 10 — view him unfavorably. Among Americans overall, plenty of people are still making up their minds about Pope Leo. But among those who do have an opinion, feelings about the first U.S.-born pope are overwhelmingly positive. The survey found that 44% of U.S. adults have a 'somewhat' or 'very' favorable view of Pope Leo XIV. A similar percentage say they don't know enough to have an opinion, and only about 1 in 10 see him unfavorably. As he promises to work for unity in a polarized church, Americans with very different views about the future of the church are feeling optimistic about his pontificate. Terry Barber, a 50-year-old Catholic from Sacramento, California, hopes Leo will seek a 'more progressive and modern church' that is more accepting of all. 'I'm optimistic. Certainly, the first pope from the United States is significant,' said Barber, who identifies as a Democrat. 'Since he worked under the previous pope, I'm sure he has similar ideas, but certainly some that are original, of his own. I'm looking forward to seeing what, if any changes, come about under his leadership.' Bipartisan appeal About half of Democrats have a favorable view of the new pope, as do about 4 in 10 Republicans and independents. Republicans are a little more likely than Democrats to be reserving judgment. About half of Republicans say they don't know enough to have an opinion about the pope, compared to about 4 in 10 Democrats. Republicans, notably, are no more likely than Democrats to have an unfavorable opinion of the pope. About 1 in 10 in each group view Pope Leo unfavorably. Victoria Becude, 38, a Catholic and Republican from Florida, said she's excited about the first U.S.-born pope and hopes he can steer the country back to Catholic doctrine and make Americans proud. 'I'm rooting for him,' she said. 'I hope that America can get back to faith, and I hope he can do that.' Being a political liberal or conservative, of course, isn't the same thing as identifying as a liberal or conservative Catholic. But the poll found no discernible partisan gap among Catholics on Pope Leo, and Catholics across the ideological spectrum have expressed hope that Leo will be able to heal some of the divisions that emerged during the pontificate of his predecessor, Pope Francis. Pope Leo recently criticized the surge of nationalist political movements in the world as he prayed for reconciliation and dialogue — a message in line with his pledges to make the Catholic Church a symbol of peace. Before becoming pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms of Pope Francis' pontificate by having women serve on the Vatican board that vets nominations for bishops. He also has said decisively that women cannot be ordained as priests. Donald Hallstone, 72, a Catholic who lives in Oregon, said he expects that Leo will continue to promote women in governance positions 'at a time when there's a shortage of priests' and other leaders in the church. 'It'd be great to see women in those roles,' he said. 'Women were not excluded in the first centuries.' On the other hand, some right-wing U.S. Catholics hope Leo will focus on Catholic doctrinal opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion. Becude, the Republican, said she's against same-sex relationships because she believes that unions should be between a man and a woman, something that Pope Leo has reiterated. Even though she describes herself as 'very conservative,' though, she's in favor of reproductive rights even when church teaching opposes abortion. 'I don't believe that they should stop women from having abortions,' she said. 'We should have our own rights because you don't know the circumstances behind the reason why a woman would want the abortion in the first place.' Few have negative views — yet There's plenty of room for views to shift as Leo's agenda as pope becomes clear. Not all Americans have formed an opinion of the new pope yet; particularly, members of other religious groups are more likely to be still making up their minds. About half of born-again Protestants, mainline Protestants, and adults with no religious affiliation don't know enough to have an opinion about the pope, although relatively few — about 1 in 10 — in each group have an unfavorable view of him. Older Americans — who are more likely to identify as Catholics — are also more likely than younger Americans to be fans of Leo's. About half of Americans ages 60 and older have a favorable view of Pope Leo, compared to about 4 in 10 Americans under 30. But even so, only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults under 30 have an unfavorable view of the pope right now. Mercedes Drink, 31, is from the pope's hometown of Chicago. She still hopes that women will become ordained under his pontificate. 'It's cool; I like him because he brings something different,' said Drink, who lives in Minnesota and identifies as being part of the 'religious nones' — atheists, agnostics, or nothing in particular. 'As a young woman, I hope that he can bring change … considering who he is, he brings something new to the table. I hope he opens the world's eyes to modernizing the church, bringing more people in, having more diversity.' ___ Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. Henao reported from Princeton, N.J. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pope Leo XIV's fashion choices make waves, and many wonder what they mean
VATICAN CITY (AP) — When Pope Leo XIV stepped out on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to greet the crowd for the first time after his May 8 election, liturgical fashion aficionados around the globe took note: Gone was the simple white cassock and silver cross favored by Pope Francis. Back was the red satin mozzetta shoulder cape, the burgundy stola with gold embroidery and a gold cross held by a double-stranded silken gold cord. Over Leo's first few weeks, the excitement grew among liturgical fashion-conscious Catholics as they noticed new additions to the wardrobe, or rather a return to the old additions of the papal wardrobe: cufflinks, white pants, lace. After Francis' revolutionary papacy, Vatican watchers are now wondering if Leo's return to the past sartorial look means a return to the past on other things too, including more substantial policy issues. But for tailors at the elite handful of liturgical tailoring shops in Rome, there is hope that Leo's return to the fancier garb of popes past will mean a boon to business if Leo's traditional look has a trickle-down effect from the pope to priests and all those in between. The style is a return to form According to the Rev. John Wauck, professor of church communication at the Pontifical Holy Cross University in Rome, Leo's clothing choices are a 'return to form,' and his attire similar to that worn by Pope Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II and other popes going back to the middle ages. They show 'a respect for tradition,' he said. Such respect for the papal office is important for many conservative Catholics. Many conservatives and traditionalists soured on Francis' informal style and disdain for tradition, which reached its pinnacle with his his crackdown on the old Latin Mass. The old liturgy was celebrated before the modernizing reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council; Francis greatly restricted access to the old liturgy, saying it had become a source of division in parishes. Leo has shown strong familiarity with Latin, and has taken to singing the Sunday noontime prayer in Latin. Some traditionalist Catholics are hoping Leo will take the pro-Latin path even further and reverse Francis to allow greater use of the traditional Latin Mass. Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology at Villanova University, where Leo went to college, said it's too early to tell if Leo will reverse Francis' reform. 'It remains to be seen if Leo's more traditional attire and liturgical style means that he will change Francis' strong decisions limiting the so-called 'Latin Mass,'' he said. That said, Faggioli said U.S. conservatives seems particularly happy with Leo's traditional attire, given Francis' disdain for the fashion pomp of the papacy. 'In this sense, Francis might have been a parenthesis or an interlude, more than a changer of the tradition in 'papal style,'' he said in an email. Leo has made other changes, too At his inaugural Mass on May 18, 2025, Pope Leo XIV reached out his arm to sprinkle holy water and revealed a shirt with cufflinks, which Francis had largely avoided. He was also wearing an amitto, and an alb held in place by a cingulum. For the non-experts, the amitto is a lacy linen cloth that goes around the neck, the alb is the white tunic worn under the ceremonial vestment, and the cingulum is a braided rope with tassels that serves as a belt. If it weren't for photographers' long lenses relentlessly trained on the pope's every gesture, Leo's switch from Francis's standard black pants to more traditional white papal trousers would have gone completely unnoticed. In addition to the clothing changes, Leo has returned to some other traditions of the Vatican that Francis eschewed. He has shown himself willing to accept the traditional 'baciamano' or kissing of his ring. Francis disliked having his ring kissed and often pulled his hand away if someone tried to kiss it. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. 'I think that what we see with Pope Leo is a willingness to embrace tradition, even if it risks seeming perhaps more formal than Pope Francis,' Wauck said. The idea is that 'seeing that tradition as a treasure to be conserved and embraced as opposed to something that makes one feel perhaps a little bit standoffish.' It remains to be seen whether Leo will move into the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace, which stood empty during the 12-year Francis papacy. Francis shocked the world by choosing to live in a small room at the Santa Marta residence at the Vatican, eating his meals in the common dining room. For the Rev. Castro Prudencio, this is all much ado about nothing. 'For Pope Francis it was simplicity. Always. And Pope Leo has taken up what Pope Benedict had and many others. That is what the church is like,' he said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
CTV News
5 days ago
- CTV News
Pope Leo XIV names first Chinese bishop, signalling he is continuing Vatican's controversial accord
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV made his first appointment of a Chinese bishop under the Vatican's 2018 agreement with Beijing, signalling he is continuing one of Pope Francis' most controversial foreign policy decisions. The Vatican expressed satisfaction that Leo's June 5 nomination of Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou was recognized Wednesday by Chinese authorities. The Vatican said in a statement that Lin taking possession of the diocese and the civic recognition of his appointment 'constitutes a further fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities and is a significant step in the diocese's communal journey.' Francis had riled conservatives when he approved a deal in 2018 over bishop nominations, which had been the most divisive issue in Vatican-China relations since diplomatic ties were severed when the Communists came to power. China had insisted on an exclusive right to name bishops as a matter of national sovereignty, while the Vatican asserted the pope's exclusive right to name the successors of the original Apostles. China's estimated 12 million Catholics have been divided between an official, state-controlled church that didn't recognize papal authority and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution. The Vatican tried for decades to unify the flock and the 2018 deal was aimed at healing that division, regularizing the status of seven bishops who weren't recognized by Rome and thawing decades of estrangement between China and the Vatican. The details of the 2018 deal were never released, but it affords the state-controlled church a say in its church leaders, though Francis insisted he retained veto power over the ultimate choice. The deal has been criticized by some, especially on the Catholic right, for having caved to Beijing's demands and sold out the underground faithful in China. The Vatican has said it was the best deal it could get and has been renewed periodically since then. One of the big foreign policy questions facing Leo, history's first American pope, was whether he would continue renewing the accord or heed conservative demands and make some changes. There have been apparent violations on the Beijing side with some unilateral appointments that occurred without papal consent. The issue came to a head just before the conclave that elected Leo pope, when the Chinese church proceeded with the preliminary election of two bishops, a step that comes before official consecration. ___ The Associated Press Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
