White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Thursday afternoon, indicating the cardinals had elected a successor to Pope Francis.

A bit later the pontiff added, “God bless you all.” The brief exchange, captured by NewsNation correspondent Robert Sherman as the pontiff made his way through a crowd at the Vatican on Monday, was just one of several viral moments from Leo XIV’s public debut.

White smoke was pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney at the Vatican, signalling that a pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church.

Francis challenged the ethnonationalism of the U.S. Catholic right. With the election of Leo XIV, the battle lines are being retraced.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States has been elected as the pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Leo XIV.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception will celebrate a special “Mass of Thanksgiving upon the Inauguration of Pope Leo XIV” on Sunday, May 18, at noon, the same day of the inauguration of the new Holy Father at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

"I hope to be able to respond to [the challenges] with a healthy dialogue," said Cardinal Robert Prevost in 2023.

Old social media posts have uncovered Pope Leo XIV's stance on Trump Administration policies after his cryptic message to the U.S people