ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – American Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the new Pope at the Vatican on Thursday, succeeding the late Pope Francis and picking the papal name Leo XIV.

White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on the afternoon of the second day of the conclave, signaling that the cardinals had successfully elected the new Pope, in one of the shortest deliberation periods in the history of the Catholic Church.

Leo emerged from balcony of St Peter's Basilica around an hour later, delivering his first speech as the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. He is the first American to hold the prestigious role.

“To all people, wherever they are, to all peoples, to the whole Earth, peace be with you,” Leo said in his address to the tens of thousands of attendees at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City.

“Help us, and each other, to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, to come together as one people, always in peace.”

The election of the new pontiff comes 17 days after the death of Pope Francis. Francis had garnered a reputation as a humble and munificent leader, seeking to modernize aspects of Catholic doctrine and emphasizing the salience of forgiveness and tolerance in the Christian tradition during his 12-year tenure.

“We still keep in our ears that weak, but always courageous, voice of Pope Francis blessing Rome,” said the new Pope on Thursday.

World leaders raced to congratulate the new Pope soon after his election. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and President Nechirvan Barzani also sent out congratulatory messages.

“May his papacy be marked by peace, interfaith dialogue, and reconciliation,” wrote the Kurdish premier on X.

Nechirvan Barzani said he was “encouraged by His Holiness’s message of peace, compassion, and justice,” stressing that “The Kurdistan Region remains firmly committed to coexistence and interfaith harmony.”

Born in 1955 in Chicago, Illinois, Prevost was not a globally-recognized figure prior to his recent appointment. He joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. He has served many years in Peru since 1975 and became a Peruvian citizen in 2015.

In his previous roles, Prevost had defended the poor and the underprivileged and been a strong supporter of migrants. He has also called on the Catholic Church to take greater on climate change.

On social issues, the new Pope has firmly opposed the ordainment of women and criticized the media and pop culture for expressing “sympathy for beliefs and practices that contradict the gospel,” referring to homosexuality and same-sex parenting.

Pope Leo XIV is set to celebrate a mass for cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on Friday morning, and hold an audience with world media on Monday, according to the Vatican press office.