Following the conclave that elected Robert Francis Prevost. Pope Leo XIV will celebrate his first mass on Friday, with the world watching for signs of what kind of pope he will be.

New Telegraph had earlier reported that the Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost became, on Thursday, May 8, the 267th pope, spiritual leader to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, after a secret conclave by his fellow cardinals in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.

At 11:00 am (0900 GMT), the 69-year-old sometimes referred to in Rome as the “Latin Yankee” for his time as a missionary in Peru, will return to the chapel to celebrate a private mass with cardinals that will be broadcast by the Vatican, delivering his much-anticipated first homily as pope.

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Tens of thousands of well-wishers cheered Leo as he appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on Thursday evening, with many having no idea who the modest man before them was.

The American, who spent two decades in Peru and was only made a cardinal in 2023, had been on many Vatican watchers’ lists of potential popes. However, he is far from being a globally recognised figure.

Over the coming days, from Friday’s mass to Sunday’s midday Regina Coeli prayer and a meeting with journalists at the Vatican on Monday, the actions and words of Leo will be closely scrutinised.

Across the globe in Peru, well-wishers including the bishop of El Callao outside Lima, Luis Alberto Barrera, saluted the Augustinian’s engagement in the Andean country.