"He is an American, but he's an American who has a really international experience," said an assistant professor at St. Louis University.

The new pope said he would be guided by a key document that his predecessor wrote listing the church’s priorities, including a “loving care for the least and the rejected.”

Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected as the first American pope in history, but he has a strong connection with Latin America.

After white smoke billowed Thursday from the Sistine Chapel, signaling that a pope had been chosen, students in every classroom at The Frances Xavier Warde School in Chicago had their eyes glued to TV screens.

In a groundbreaking moment for the Catholic Church, Robert Prevost, a 69-year-old American missionary and bishop, has been elected as the new pope. He is the first American ever to lead the Catholic Church in its 2,