VATICAN CITY (Reuters) — US cardinal Robert Prevost was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church today, taking the name Leo XIV, becoming the first American pontiff.

Pope Leo, appeared on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica about 70 minutes after white smoke billowed from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel signifying the 133 cardinal electors had chosen a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.

The choice of Prevost was announced by French cardinal Dominique Mamberti with the Latin words “Habemus Papam” — “We have a pope” — to tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square to hear the news.

Aged 69 and originally from Chicago, Prevost has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and became a cardinal only in 2023. He has given few media interviews and rarely speaks in public.

Leo becomes the 267th Catholic pope after the death last month of Pope Francis, who was the first Latin American pope and had led the Church for 12 years, and widely sought to open the staid institution to the modern world.

Francis enacted a range of reforms and allowed debate on divisive issues such as women’s ordination and better inclusion of LGBTQ+ Catholics.

Ahead of the conclave, some cardinals called for continuity with Francis’s vision of greater openness and reform, while others said they wanted to turn back the clock and embrace old traditions.