White smoke flourished, and the Catholic Church had a new pope-he was American.
The Vatican's cardinal elected Chicago-born Robert Prevost on Thursday to lead the church and succeed Pope Francis, who died last month.
Prevost became the name of Leo Xiv as he became the first pope in the United States.
"Peace is with you" is his first sentence as the pope.
It was for the new pope and his journey from the Midwest of the United States to the top of the church of 1.4 billion.
The Leo father was born in 1955 in French, Italian and Spanish parents, and was a principal, whose mother had a degree in the field of library science and education and was deeply involved in the hypothetical St. Mary's participation in the family.
Last week, the Chicago Sun Times quoted friends and fellow church members of Leo, who said he had been committed to his faith and his path to the priesthood since he was a child.
Leo graduated from Villanova University in Pennsylvania in 1977. He also studied religion at the Chicago Catholic Theological Union.
In 1982, he received a Doctor of Church Law from the Church of St. Thomas Aquinas University in Rome and was sent to a Catholic Mission in Peru.
In the following decades, he rose among the church as he bounced between Chicago and Peru.
Pope Francis made him bishop of Chiclayo, Peru in 2015, and then gave him greater church responsibilities. In the same year, Prevost also became a Peruvian citizen.
In 2023, he became the county magistrate of Dicastery, the Bishop of the main Catholic administrative body in Rome.
Leo, in his first public remarks, introduced himself as Augustinian - a command within the Catholic Church, following the doctrine of St Augustine of Hippo, emphasizing love, harmony, humility and dedication to the spiritual community of the church.
The term also describes people who belong to the religious order, and Pope Leo is only one of 34 popes of the 266 people.
Such commands are a Catholic community that includes priests, nuns, monks and laymen dedicated to a specific type of mission and spirituality.
Pope Francis was the first pope of the Jesuit religious order ever and the first pope in a century and a half.
Leo suggests that he follow in Frances's footsteps. The late pope was largely seen as a transformational figure, who moved into the church in a gradual direction and focused on promoting the rights of the poor and marginalized.
Leo said: "Let us keep the weak but always brave voice of Pope Francis in our ears, and he blesses Rome--wishes that day on that day on that day on the Pope of Rome and the world."
Francis called for peace and disarmament a few days before his death.
When it comes to the Pope, the name matters. New Popes often choose new names as a homage to the saint or ex.
For example, Pope Francis was named after St. Francis of Assisi, who gave up material goods and dedicated his life to the poor.
The last Leo who led the church was Pope Leo XIII, who advocated the rights of workers.
Father James Bretzke, priest at John Carroll University, told Al Jazeera.
Church leaders are not politicians, but religion is intertwined with public affairs. Leo has given him political tips over the years, especially in advocating for immigration rights.
In 2015, Leo shared an article by Cardinal Timothy Dolan criticized the anti-immigration proposals of then-Donald Trump. The column titled: Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is such a problem.
In February, he again criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policy, aiming at Vice President JD Vance’s argument that people should love others more than strangers.
Leo shared an article declaring: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus does not ask us to rank the love of others.”
Debate about allowing women to become priests has been intense in the Catholic church, but Leo does not seem to support the change.
"It's also important to say that some women - and interestingly, some women have said that - 'Claus'''" doesn't necessarily solve the problem, which may bring new problems," he told reporters in 2023.
Leo's Augustine orders face transparency criticism when dealing with sexual abuse cases that shock the church.
In 2023, Leo calls for a focus on victims on this issue.
"In some places, good work has been done for many years and the rules are being put into practice. At the same time, I believe there is still a lot to learn."
“I’m talking about the urgency and responsibility of accompanying the victim.”
Leo is younger than his two past exes at the age of 69. Francis is 76 years old. Benedict XVI was 78 years old. But he was older than John Paul II, who was 58 years old, when he became the Pope - one of the youngest popes in modern history.
He loves tennis, spends time with friends, and “meets all kinds of people.”
"I consider myself an amateur tennis player. I have hardly had a chance to practice since leaving Peru, so I look forward to returning to the court," he told the Augustine Order website in 2023.