Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born missionary, was elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo XIV holds his first general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, issuing an appeal for Gaza, which he calls an “increasingly worrying and painful” situation, harming children, elderly, and the sick in particular.

In just over 24 hours and after at least four separate ballots, 133 cardinals reached a historic consensus beneath the frescoed ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—and the world heard the long-awaited words: 'Habemus Papam.