New Pope Leo XIV: Robert Prevost a new start for Catholic Church

Excited crowds gathered in St Peter's Square to witness the historic election of the first American Pope.

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The warm May sun was still high in the sky when a roar echoed out in the streets surrounding St Peter's Square.

One street over, startled people looked at each other, then at their phones. Then, they began to run down the narrow alleyways leading to the Vatican. "White smoke, they're saying white smoke!", they called out.

By the time they reached the square, a white haze was still hovering over the left hand side of the Apostolic Palace where 133 cardinals had been locked away since the day before, voting to elect the new head of the Catholic Church.

As the evening sunshine streamed through the statues of the apostles on the ledge of St Peter's Basilica and bells tolled joyously over the square, young and older people zig-zagged through the crowd, and a group of nuns held hands as they swerved journalists and cameras.