Conclave to elect newest pope was third in a row to finish in two days
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Updated: 2:49 PM CDT May 8, 2025
Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Thursday — the second day of the conclave to elect the successor of Pope Francis.The length of the conclave to elect Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, ended on the second day of voting. The conclave follows a modern-day trend of shorter periods of time for the College of Cardinals to choose the new pontiff. The past three conclaves, including the one to elect Leo, have only gone into the second day, according to data from Catholic-Hierarchy.org.The past 13 conclaves have been under six days. But between the 1600s and 1800s, conclaves lasted much longer. The longest conclave since 1404 was 182 days in 1740.The most recent conclave before Leo, which elected Pope Francis in 2013, was no different. The late pontiff was elected in just five ballots in less than two full days of the conclave. His predecessor, Benedict XVI, was elected in four ballots.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
WASHINGTON — Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Thursday — the second day of the conclave to elect the successor of Pope Francis.
The length of the conclave to elect Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, ended on the second day of voting. The conclave follows a modern-day trend of shorter periods of time for the College of Cardinals to choose the new pontiff.
The past three conclaves, including the one to elect Leo, have only gone into the second day, according to data from .
The past 13 conclaves have been under six days. But between the 1600s and 1800s, conclaves lasted much longer. The longest conclave since 1404 was 182 days in 1740.
The most recent conclave before Leo, which elected Pope Francis in 2013, was no different. The late pontiff was elected in just in less than two full days of the conclave. His predecessor, Benedict XVI, was elected in .
