Pope Leo XIV stepped onto a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Thursday, simultaneously stepping into his new role as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Crowds in the square and around the world rejoiced moments earlier when white smoke billowed from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel shortly after 6 p.m., signaling that the cardinals inside had elected a new pontiff to succeed Pope Francis.

Dressed in the white and red vestments of his new office, Leo XIV, shed the uniform of a cardinal and the name, Robert Francis Prevost, he used for 69 years.

Leo XIV assumes the papacy at an uncertain time for the church and its 1.4 billion members, as it confronts questions about whether to continue Francis’ agenda of greater reform, or forge a more conservative path. Leo XIV’s supporters, in the run-up to the conclave, had pitched him as a “dignified middle-of-the-road” candidate.