New Pope Has Been Chosen; Pope Francis I

New Pope Has Been Chosen; White Smoke Rises

With a puff of white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and to the cheers of thousands of rain-soaked faithful, a gathering of Catholic cardinals picked a new pope from among their midst on Wednesday. The name of the new pope, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, by tradition would not be revealed until he appeared on a balcony on the front of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Before beginning the voting by secret ballot in the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday, in a cloistered meeting known as a conclave, the cardinals swore an oath of secrecy in Latin, a rite designed to protect deliberations from outside scrutiny — and to protect cardinals from earthly influence as they seek divine guidance.

The conclave followed more than a week of intense, broader discussions among the world’s cardinals where they discussed the problems facing the church and their criteria for its next leader.

The identity of the new pope has been announced to the world from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, 76 years old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, from Argentina.

The new pontiff, Pope Francis I, formerly Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has emerged on to the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to address the thousands in the square.

Pope Francis I is the first pope from the Americas, and the first from outside Europe in over a thousand years.

His first words to the crowds in the square: “Brothers and sisters, good evening.”