White smoke rose again over the sky of Rome. The Catholic Church has a new pontiff and his name is Robert Prevost and he will bear the pontifical name Leon XIV.

Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square burst into applause, songs and tears when the chimney of the Sistine Chapel announced with white smoke that the conclave had concluded. The election came on the second day of deliberations, after several rounds of voting by the 133 cardinals gathered since Wednesday.

"Habemus Papam," will be the words shortly to be announced from the balcony by the cardinal protodeacon, marking the formal presentation of the new pope to the world. The name chosen and the exact profile of the new spiritual leader of the more than 1.4 billion Catholics in the world is still unknown.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said an excited Rita Canale, a Roman who came to the square with her 8-year-old daughter. Bruna Hodara, arriving from Brazil, summed up the general enthusiasm as she recorded the scene with her phone, "Habemus papam, woooo!"

A historic and challenging moment

The new pope succeeds Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, who died last month after 12 years of leadership marked by his defense of migrants, the environment and a pastoral openness that made the most conservative sectors uncomfortable.

The election comes at a complex time for the Church: abuse scandals persist, internal tensions between progressive and traditionalist visions, the challenge of attracting faithful in the West and the need to strengthen its moral voice in a world fragmented by conflicts and nationalism.

Before the conclave began, Dean Giovanni Battista Re urged the cardinals to choose someone "capable of protecting the unity of the Church" and leading at this "difficult and complex turning point in history."

The new pontiff will also have to take on the challenge of governing the Roman Curia, dealing with internal financial crises and deciding whether to deepen the reforms of his predecessor or make a doctrinal shift.

A global election

The election took place amid absolute secrecy, as tradition dictates. On pain of excommunication, the cardinals cannot reveal details of the process. Only smoke - black or white - communicates the progress of the voting to the world.

The 2025 conclave was the largest and most diverse in the history of the Church: 133 cardinals from 70 countries, many of them appointed by Francis. But that did not guarantee continuity. The dilemma was posed: to choose a pastor close to the faithful or a diplomat skilled in Vatican politics? A reformer or a strict custodian of doctrine?

As tradition dictates, after the election, the new pope retired to the "Room of Tears," where he usually gives vent to emotion and dons the white cassock for the first time. He then returned to the Sistine Chapel to receive the obedience of the cardinals and, soon, he will present himself to the world from the balcony of the basilica.

There he will impart his first blessing "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world), and in the coming days he will lead the inaugural mass of his pontificate, with the presence of political and religious leaders from all over the world.

In the meantime, the world waits. A new chapter begins in the history of a 2,000-year-old Church, which once again looks to the future from the heart of the Vatican.

With information from AFP