VATICAN CITY (Dispatches)  - Robert Francis Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, becoming the first American to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
The bells of St Peter’s Basilica and churches across Rome rang out and crowds rushed towards the square to watch the balcony of the basilica, which had been fitted out with red curtains for the first address to the world by the 267th pope, who was introduced in Latin with his chosen papal name.
Leo, successor to the late Francis, appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to deliver the first address of his ministry Francis died aged 88 after a 12-year papacy during which he sought to forge a more compassionate Church – but provoked anger from many conservatives with his progressive approach.
Leo XIV now faces a momentous task: as well as asserting his moral voice on a conflict-torn global stage, he must try to unite a divided Church and tackle burning issues such as the continued fall-out from the sexual abuse scandal.
The legacy of sexual abuse cast a long shadow over Francis’s papacy. He was slow to grasp the scale and systemic nature of the problem, and Pope Leo XIV’s approach will inevitably also come under intense scrutiny.