Nigeria, May 9 -- Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American, has been elected as the Catholic Church's 267th leader. Following his election, Cardinal Prevost announced his papal name as Leo XIV.

According to reports, his election makes him the first American to hold the exalted office.

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti announced the election of the new Pope by the conclave, which consisted of 133 Cardinals (senior members of the Catholic Church's clergy) in the third round of Conclave (a College of Cardinals gathering) voting.

The College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, to become the next leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. Nigeria's Cardinal Peter Okpaleke qualified to be one of the College of Cardinals who determined the ...