Former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States was selected Thursday by the papal conclave to succeed Pope Francis and lead the Roman Catholic Church. The new pontiff, who has taken the name Leo XIV,

The election of a first North American pontiff came after the death of the first Latin American pope and signaled a relinquishing of papal authority from Europe.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States has been elected the 267th pope and has stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.