The newly anointed Pope Leo XIV came to the balcony clad in a white cassock topped by a red cape trimmed in ermine and draped in a gold embroidered sash. He clasped his hands in prayer and smiled as the crowds chanted his name, and “ Viva La Papa! ”

Catholic cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican on Wednesday for the start of the conclave, the centuries-old secret voting ritual to elect a new pope to follow Pope Francis, who died April 21.