Speaking to journalists, the head of state said that he had already sent a message to the new Pope on behalf of the Portuguese people, "of congratulations and at the same time highlighting the ancient, historic, fundamental relations between the church and Portugal and the role of the Catholic Church throughout human history".

According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the choice of the American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who also has Peruvian nationality, "was a surprise, but it is a surprise that, at first glance, makes sense",

The President of the Republic highlighted his "North American origin, with a Latin American touch", due to the period he spent in Peru, and considered that he has "a great concern for peace, ecumenical openness, openness to the world".

"It gives the feeling of a compromise between being a follower of Pope Francis, close to him in recent years, not as talked about as other names that were talked about a lot, but also opening up to a completely different new world, the Americas," he said.

The head of state said that, by all accounts, the new Pope "is very young", at 69 years old, with the prospect of "a long pontificate".

In his opinion, the choice of cardinal electors of the Catholic Church corresponds to the idea of ​​"not having Europe successively choose the Popes, but rather rotating the continents".

"There had been a lot of thought about whether it would be Asian, whether it would be African. Not this time," he commented.

The President of the Republic highlighted that the cardinal electors of the Catholic Church chose "someone close to Pope Francis, very close, because he was with him in the Roman Curia in recent years, he was chosen by the Pope to be the head of the ministry of bishops".

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that he expected the new Pope to come from the "small number" of cardinals who, because they are in Rome, are "known by all the bishops and all the cardinals".

When asked if he thinks that the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, has reason to be happy that the new Pope is American, or not, he replied: "I don't know, look, I didn't even think about it."

American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was elected Pope by the 133 cardinal electors, after two days of conclave, and took the name Leo XIV.