World leaders congratulate new Pope Leo XIV

Political and religious leaders have congratulated the new Pope who has become the first American head of the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo XIV emerged onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in front of a packed St Peter’s Square, cheered on by jubilant crowds as he made his first public appearance as pontiff.

The election of the new Pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, from Chicago, was quickly hailed an honour and exciting time by US President Donald Trump.

Posting on his Truth Social platform about the 69-year-old pontiff, Mr Trump said: “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

Mr Trump drew criticism over the weekend after sharing an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed as the pope on social media.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the election as a “deeply profound moment of joy for Catholics in the United Kingdom and globally” while the Church of England’s current most senior bishop said he looks forward to “working with” the new Pope.

Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who is currently de facto head while the Church of England seeks a new archbishop of Canterbury following Justin Welby’s resignation, said: “Pope Leo XIV’s many years of pastoral experience, his commitment to justice, and his deep spirituality are an example of life lived in service to Jesus Christ.”

He added: “As Anglicans we give thanks for his call to Christians to be bridge-builders across the divisions of our world, and the divisions that continue to exist between churches.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated the Pope and pleaded for continued support from the Vatican.

In a post on X Mr Zelensky wrote: “Ukraine deeply values the Holy See’s consistent position in upholding international law, condemning the Russian Federation’s military aggression against Ukraine, and protecting the rights of innocent civilians.

“At this decisive moment for our country, we hope for the continued moral and spiritual support of the Vatican in Ukraine’s efforts to restore justice and achieve a lasting peace.”

US vice president JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult, congratulated the new Pope saying “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!”

The new Pope previously shared posts on social media that were critical of the Trump administration, including in February sharing a opinion piece which chastised the US vice president as wrong about some aspects of Christian teaching.

The secret conclave meeting had taken only around 24 hours to choose their new leader, giving the Church a pope less than three weeks after the death of his predecessor Francis.

Crowds had been joyously waving flags and chanting “Habemus Papam”, the Latin for “we have a Pope”, since white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel shortly after 5pm UK time on Thursday.

The new pontiff is the 267th Pope, becoming the religious leader of some 1.4 billion Catholics across the globe and someone believed to be called as the successor to St Peter, who was the first.

In his first words as Pope, the new pontiff told the adoring crowd: “Peace be with you”.

International development charity Cafod said Pope Leo “will be a voice of wisdom in a fractured and divided world”, and that his years as a missionary in Peru mean he can bring into his papacy “the vital perspective of the global south, elevating voices from the margins to centre stage”.

The 133 cardinals had voted on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, with black smoke emitted from the chapel chimney twice, showing no-one had been elected.

But in the bright sunshine of Thursday afternoon, white smoke began to billow out, with onlookers bearing witness to history as the Church confirmed it had its new leader.

Bells tolled to confirm the news, perhaps in a marker of the confusion at previous conclaves where the colour of the smoke was not completely clear.

Three UK cardinals took part in conclave, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe and Rome-based Cardinal Arthur Roche, as did Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell who has mainly ministered in the US and been based in Rome for some years.

Only those cardinals aged under 80 were eligible to cast a ballot, and this conclave was thought to be one of the most diverse of any before, representing some 70 countries.

Pope Francis had appointed some 108 of the 133 cardinals who took part in the conclave to choose his successor.

Pope Leo will have the challenge of following in the footsteps of the late Francis, whose popularity saw him dubbed “the people’s pope”.