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White smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the great bells of St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica tolled Thursday after cardinals elected the 267th pope to lead the Catholic Church on the second day of聽.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and leads the Vatican鈥檚 powerful office of bishops, was elected the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

Prevost, 69, took the name Leo XIV.

The 聽erupted in cheers, priests made the sign of the cross and nuns wept as the crowd shouted 鈥淰iva il papa!鈥� after the white smoke wafted into the late afternoon sky at 6:07 p.m. Waving flags from around the world, tens of thousands of people waited to learn who had won.

The smoke signal means the winner secured at least 89 votes of the聽聽participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

The new pope is expected to make his first public appearance and impart a blessing from the same loggia. The voting cardinals filled the four balconies that flank the flag-draped balcony where Pope Leo XIV will speak. Many 鈥� including several who had been identified as possible contenders 鈥� seem joyful as they look over the crowd below.

In the crowd at St. Peter鈥檚 Square

Pedro Deget, 22, a finance student from Argentina, said he and his family visited Rome during the聽聽and were hoping for a new pope in Francis鈥� image.

鈥淔rancis did well in opening the church to the outside world, but on other fronts maybe he didn鈥檛 do enough. We鈥檒l see if the next one will be able to do more,鈥� Deget said from the piazza.

The Rev. Jan Dominik Bogataj, a Slovene Franciscan friar, was more critical of Francis. He said if he were in the Sistine Chapel, he鈥檇 be voting for Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem who is on many papal contender lists.

鈥淗e has clear ideas, not much ideology. He鈥檚 a direct, intelligent and respectful man,鈥� Bogataj said from the square. 鈥淢ost of all, he鈥檚 agile.鈥�

A long wait on the first ballot

On Wednesday night, the black smoke of the first ballot poured out of the chapel chimney just after 9 p.m., about 4.5 hours after the cardinals filed into the Sistine Chapel to take their oaths at the start of the conclave.

The late hour prompted speculation about what took so long: Did they have to redo the vote? Did someone get sick or need translation help? Did the papal preacher take a long time to deliver his meditation before the voting began?

鈥淭hey probably need more time,鈥� said Costanza Ranaldi, a 63-year-old who traveled from Pescara in Italy鈥檚 Abruzzo region to the Vatican.

Some of the cardinals had said they expected a short conclave. But if recent history is any guide, it will likely take聽聽to settle on the 267th pope.

For much of the past century, the conclave has needed between three and 14 ballots to find a pope. John Paul I 鈥� the pope who reigned for 33 days in 1978 鈥� was elected on the fourth ballot. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.

Conjecture on contenders

The cardinals opened the secretive, centuries-old ritual Wednesday afternoon, participating in a rite more theatrical than even Hollywood could create. Bright red cassocks, Swiss Guards standing at attention, ancient Latin chants and oaths preceded the slamming shut of the Sistine Chapel doors to seal the cardinals off from the outside world.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the 70-year-old secretary of state under Francis and a聽聽to succeed him as pope, assumed leadership of the proceedings as the most senior cardinal under age 80 eligible to participate.

Parolin seemed to have received the blessings from none other than Re, the respected elder among the cardinals. During the traditional exchange of peace during the pre-conclave Mass on Wednesday, Re was caught on a hot mic telling Parolin 鈥渁uguri doppio鈥� or 鈥渄ouble best wishes.鈥� Italians debated whether it was just a customary gesture acknowledging Parolin鈥檚 role running conclave, or if it might have been an informal endorsement or even a premature congratulations.

The voting process

The voting follows a strict choreography, dictated by church law.

Each cardinal writes his choice on a piece of paper inscribed with the words 鈥淓ligo in summen pontificem鈥� 鈥� 鈥淚 elect as supreme pontiff.鈥� They approach the altar one by one and say: 鈥淚 call as my witness, Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.鈥�

The folded ballot is placed on a round plate and tipped into a silver and gold urn. Once cast, the ballots are opened one by one by three different 鈥渟crutineers,鈥� cardinals selected at random who write down the names and read them aloud.

The scrutineers, whose work is checked by other cardinals called revisers, then add up the results of each round of balloting and write them on a separate sheet of paper, which is preserved in the papal archives.

As the scrutineer reads out each name, he pierces each ballot with a needle through the word 鈥淓ligo.鈥� All the ballots are then bound together with thread, and the bundle is put aside and burned in the chapel stove along with a chemical to produce the smoke.

Giada Zampano, Helena Alves and Vanessa Gera contributed to this report