A papal tapestry is unfurled and draped over the edge of the balcony as cardinals gather on the left and right sides of the balcony, looking out over the crowd in St Peter's Square. The crowd cheers and starts chanting after hearing the announcement that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been voted as the new pope.

"Peace be with all of you!" Those were the first words of Pope Leo XIV, the newly anointed leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. As Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost addressed the 100,000-strong crowd gathered in St.