Catholic cardinals broke with tradition Thursday and elected the first U.S. pope, making Chicago-born missionary Robert Prevost the 267th pontiff to lead the Catholic Church in a moment of global turmoil and conflict.

White smoke has emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signaling that a new pope has been elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church. The smoke indicates that a candidate has secured the necessary two-thirds majority —at least 89 of the 133 voting cardinals—during the secretive conclave.