Answer

The new pope was elected during the 2025 papal conclave, which began on May 7, 2025, in the Sistine Chapel. After a series of secret ballots over two days, Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the new pope and took the name Leo XIV. The conclave required a two-thirds majority vote from 133 cardinal electors. The final white smoke signaling the successful election appeared on the afternoon of May 8, 2025, and the new pope was publicly announced around 7:13 p.m. that day.