Those who knew Pope Leo XIV as a younger man say his path to the papacy has prepared him well for the challenges ahead.

The Roman Catholic cardinals gathered at the Vatican in Rome have chosen a new pope to lead the church’s 1.4 billion faithful, announcing their decision with a swirl of white smoke from a smokestack above the Sistine Chapel at around 6:10 p.

White smoke is pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, signalling that a pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church. That means the winner secured at least 89 votes of the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis.