NATION/WORLD

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The conclave that begins May 7 is expected to be the largest in history, with a wide geographical mix of cardinal-electors. While 115 cardinals took part in the conclaves in 2005 and 2013, 133 prelates were expected to walk into the Sistine Chapel to elect a successor to Pope Francis. There are 135 cardinals under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a papal election, however, local church officials had notified the Vatican that Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, the 79-year-old retired archbishop of Valencia, Spain, and Cardinal John Njue, the 79-year-old retired of archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya, were not coming to Rome due to health issues.

The first U.S.-born cardinal, Robert Francis Prevost, has been named the Roman pontiff on Thursday, taking the name Leo XIV.   Following the opening Mass (The Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff) on Wednesday, 133 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel later that day to begin the conclave. To elect a new pope, a two-thirds majority was required, meaning at least 89 votes were needed out of 133 electors. On Thursday afternoon in Rome, the white smoke indicated the new pope had been selected.  

Fr. John Nahrgang and Fr. Fernando Camou, two priests from the Diocese of Phoenix, were among the thousands packed into St. Peter’s Square when the historic selection of Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American from Chicago who had lived and served in Peru for a number of years before moving to Rome, was announced May 8.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic community is alive, beautiful and strong, and it is up to its pastors to protect and nourish the faithful and to help bring God's hope to the whole world, Pope Leo XIV said. For that reason, the pope invited the cardinals "to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council," and that "Pope Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth in the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium" ("The Joy of the Gospel"), he said May 10, in his first formal speech to the College of Cardinals.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV's devotion to St. Augustine, his life and ministry as a member of the Augustinian order and his focus on the unity of the church are reflected in his episcopal motto and coat of arms. When he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica shortly after his election May 8, he introduced himself as "an Augustinian, a son of St. Augustine." And he explained that the cardinals who elected him "have chosen me to be the Successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a Church, united, ever pursuing peace and justice, ever seeking to act as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, in order to proclaim the Gospel without fear, to be missionaries."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While Pope Leo XIV has deleted the account he began as Father Robert F. Prevost on Twitter, now X, in 2011, the Vatican has launched new accounts for him on X and Instagram. "The Holy Father Leo XIV has chosen to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram," said the Dicastery for Communication.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV will formally begin his ministry as bishop of Rome with a liturgy steeped in tradition and rich in symbolism May 18. The "Mass for the Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry," to be held in St. Peter's Square, will mark the visible and public start of his pontificate while grounding it in the Catholic Church's apostolic continuity. Although the pope's canonical authority began the moment he accepted his election in the Sistine Chapel May 8, the installation Mass offers the universal church a moment of shared prayer and liturgical celebration to begin the pontificate.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- All the speeches and messages Pope Leo XIV has given since becoming pope May 8 are available on the Vatican website, which should be checked before sharing supposed quotes and videos, Vatican News said. The Vatican News site published the warning in several languages May 21 after a 36-minute "deep fake" -- AI-generated -- video was posted on YouTube.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Gospel parable of the "wasteful sower" who casts seeds on fertile soil as well as on a rocky path "is an image of the way God loves us," Pope Leo XIV told visitors and pilgrims at his first weekly general audience. The parable can strike people as odd because "we are used to calculating things -- and at times it is necessary -- but this does not apply in love," the pope told an estimated 40,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square May 21. Pope Leo read his full prepared text in Italian and also read the summaries of the talk in English and in Spanish.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Families are the cradle of the future of humanity, Pope Leo XIV said during a Mass concluding the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly. "Today's world needs the marriage covenant in order to know and accept God's love and to defeat, thanks to its unifying and reconciling power, the forces that break down relationships and societies," he said in his homily at the Mass celebrated June 1 in St. Peter's Square. The day also marked World Communications Day, and in remarks after the Mass Pope Leo thanked all "media workers who, by taking care of the ethical quality of messages, help families in their role as educators."