PUPPY POPES How dog owners are dressing their holy hounds up as Pope following announcement of new pontiff

PRAISE be! This gives a whole new meaning to the term dog collar – pet pooches dressed up as the Pope.

When Pope Leo XIV was announced as the new head of the Catholic Church on Thursday, he wore the traditional red and gold outfit that had been shunned by his predecessor Pope Francis.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, has become the first American popeCredit: Reuters

That may have answered the prayers of these holy hounds’ owners, who decided the cardinal rule of looking like the supreme pontiff was the bling wardrobe.

In 2015, when Francis visited the US, there was a trend for dressing up dogs to look like the Vatican chief.

Now that Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, from Chicago, has become the first American pope, that congregation is sure to grow.

Meryl Espiniero from New York even dressed her dog Romeo Valentino as the Pope in St Peter’s Square in Rome as she waited for the conclave to vote this week.

Here, Grant Rollings presents our top of the papal pups.