Eighteen days after Pope Francis last appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Easter Sunday, the world cheered as his successor — the 267th pope — emerged on the same balcony on Thursday.
The new pope is Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost from the United States — the first pope ever chosen from the U.S. His chosen name is Pope Leo XIV.
Here’s a look at the conclave by the numbers:
133: The number of cardinal electors — the most ever — who voted inside the Sistine Chapel until they reached a two-thirds majority — at least 89 votes — to elect a new pope for the Catholic Church.
Faithful react to the white smoke indicating that a new pope has been elected, at the Vatican, May 8, 2025.
Eloisa Lopez/Reuters
252: The number of cardinals worldwide. While all cardinals are summoned to the Vatican upon the pope’s death, only those under the age of 80 are eligible to participate in the conclave. Of the total number of cardinals, 135 are age-eligible to serve as electors; two electors told the Vatican that they would not be able to participate in the current conclave due to health reasons.
2: The conclave ended after the second day of voting on Thursday, marking one of the shortest conclaves in history. There are only two other instances in recent history where a pontiff was elected after only two days of voting, first for Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and the second for Pope Francis in 2013. Since 1831, no conclave has lasted more than four days.
Large crowds celebrate on St Peter’s Square as they witness white smoke after a new pope is elected at the conclave on May 8, 2025 in Vatican City.
Antonio Masiello/Getty Images
16: The number of cardinal electors from North America, including 10 from the U.S.. The majority of the cardinals are from Europe, including 17 electors from Italy, five from Spain and five from France. There are four from Central America, 17 from South America, 18 from Africa, 23 from Asia and four from Oceania.
23: The most popular papal name is John, which has been used by 23 popes. That’s followed by Gregory and Benedict, both used 16 times. Leo is the fifth-most popular name.
69: Age of the new pope, which is considered very young.