The white smoke came on Thursday.
As far as news events go, the naming of a new pope is still pretty rare, and a really big deal when it happens. Consider this: there have been only 10 — well, now 11— popes since 1903. For comparison’s sake, there have been 21 U.S. presidents in that timeframe.
That’s one of the reasons there was so much excitement when we saw the white smoke on Thursday. Robert Francis Prevost, a Chicago native, became the first American to be named head of the Catholic Church and chose the papal name of Pope Leo XIV, which is how he’ll be known from now on. It took just over 24 hours for him to be elected by a group of 133 cardinals, the largest conclave ever.
There were hints that the conclave would not go beyond a few days to choose a new pope. That didn’t stop the world — and the media — from turning their attention to the Vatican on Thursday when the white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel, though.
NBC’s Lester Holt painted the scene to viewers:
“We are looking out, you can see the high shot over St. Peter’s Square right now. We can hear the Square being energized right now. The marching band. In a very short time, we would expect we will see the new pope and we will learn the new pope’s name and whatever message he may share at this moment. There’s the balcony on the right side of your screen, where he will make his first appearance soon. We got our first indication, obviously, the smoke, the white smoke pouring out of the chimney we’ve been staring at and then the sound of bells tolling, loudly tolling over the Vatican and throughout the streets of Rome, people taking it as a call to answer. Now filing their way here to witness this historic moment in their church. I say their church or those who are simply curious about the faith and want to be a part of this moment. We tend to always look at popes as peacemakers in a turbulent world. So they obviously are key figures that will be watched around the world as this moment comes together.”
Pope Leo XIV is the 267th pope in the church’s history. But there is something different about him from most of the popes who came before him: a presence on social media.
Though his posts were rare and mostly retweets or links to stories, then-Cardinal Robert Prevost is occasionally active on social media channels.
The New York Times’ Lisa Lerer wrote, “While The New York Times could not independently confirm that Cardinal Prevost ran the account himself — or if it was operated by a staff member — the account was connected to a phone number and email address believed to be tied to him. Nearly all the posts, which date to 2011, shared articles, statements and comments made by other church leaders — not by the cardinal himself.”
However, Mediaite’s Isaac Schorr wrote, “It wouldn’t take Sherlock Holmes to decipher them.” Prevost, through his retweets, has been critical of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
A tweet of his on X that is getting the most attention is a link to a story published on Feb. 1 in the National Catholic Reporter with the headline: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.” Prevost posted the story two days later, on Feb. 3, with the headline intact.
Of course, it didn’t take long after Prevost was named the pope for MAGA-types to have a full-blown meltdown over his various posts that criticize Vance and Trump’s immigration policies.
Lara Loomer, one of Trump’s most vocal supporters, tweeted, “THIS IS THE NEW POPE! His name is Robert Prevost. He’s the first American Pope. He is anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis. Catholics don’t have anything good to look forward to. Just another Marxist puppet in the Vatican.”
Conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News and then-fired NBC host, tweeted, “Is it too much to hope that some 20-year-old ran the new pope’s X account and he never looked at it?”
Kyle Mann, editor-in-chief of the conservative Christian news satire website The Babylon Bee, tweeted, “We may be cooked” — and retweeted a Prevost retweet of someone praying for George Floyd’s family in 2020.
These are just a few of many, so check out Schorr’s story for Mediaite, where he collected a bunch of MAGA meltdowns.
For the record, not long after the announcement, Trump had welcoming words for the new pope, posting on Truth Social, “Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
And Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, tweeted, “Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election! I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!”
There is an official X account for the pope, one that goes back to 2012 and Pope Benedict XVI. In a 2023 interview with the Vatican News Service, Prevost said, “Social media can be an important tool to communicate the Gospel message reaching millions of people. We must prepare ourselves to use social media well. I am afraid that sometimes this preparation has been lacking.
“At the same time, the world today, which is constantly changing, presents situations where we really have to think several times before speaking or before writing a message on Twitter, in order to answer or even just to ask questions in a public form, in full view of everyone. Sometimes there is a risk of fuelling divisions and controversy.”
He added, “There is a great responsibility to use social networks, communication, correctly, because it is an opportunity, but it is also a risk. And it can do damage to the communion of the Church. That is why one must be very prudent in the use of these means.”
The cover
Here’s the cover of Time and the new pope:
