Pope Leo XIV is the first pope from the US, but holds dual citizenship in Peru, where he was a missionary for decades before becoming a cardinal.

None of his speech to the crowds gathered in St Peter’s Square was in English, but rather Italian, the language of the papacy, and a brief foray into Spanish to greet his former community in Peru. 

Before heading into the secret conclave on 7 May, the world’s cardinals issued a statement lamenting the conflicts “in Ukraine, the Middle East, and many other parts of the world” and making a “heartfelt appeal” for peace.

The new pope has said he wanted to share God’s peace, calling it “a disarmed peace and a disarming peace” that is “humble and persevering.”

Leo also mentioned Francis, who offered his last blessing to crowds in Rome on Easter Sunday, the day before he died.

“We still have in our ears that weak, but always courageous voice of Pope Francis,” he said.

Pope’s brother says he watched Conclave movie before entering real thing

As we’ve been reporting, the Pope’s brother John has spoken to our sister news organisation, NBC News – and he’s revealed a very interesting final conversation between the pair.

John Prevost spoke to his brother, Robert, right before he entered the conclave.

He asked if his brother had watched the movie “Conclave” before the start of the real-life version so he would “know how to behave”.

Pope Leo confirmed he had, his brother said.

The movie, directed by Edward Berger, features actor Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the dean of the College of Cardinals. He deals with a fractious conclave – let’s hope the real thing was less scandalous. 

One cleric involved in the real thing previously told Politics.eu that some newer cardinals had watched the movie for pointers, telling the news outlet the movie was remarkably accurate.