Francis may have been globally admired, but within the church hierarchy he was a polarizing figure. This could have resulted in a drawn-out voting process as diverse groups within the electorate struggle to find common ground.

White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City on Thursday evening local time, signaling the era of a new pope's reign and the leader of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is now Pope Leo XIV following a two-day papal conclave seeking a successor to Pope Francis,

In a historic moment for the nearly 2,000-year-old Catholic Church, the first-ever pope from the United States was elected on Thursday. President Donald Trump took to social media to congratulate the newly elected Pope Leo XIV — formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost — calling it a "great honor" for the United States to have its first pope.