White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on Wednesday evening (early Thursday, Manila time), signalling the election of the new pope to succeed the retired Pope Benedict XVI.
Bells pealed across Rome and in Christian cities around the world as the 1.2-billion-strong global Catholic community anticipated the introduction of their new leader.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, who had been the archbishop of Buenos Aires is now elected as the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic church. Francis I is the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope.
According to reports, Bergoglio is known to be conservative and orthodox in his beliefs who spoke out for the poor and led a solemn life in Buenos Aires.
The decision came after five votes -- longer than for Benedict's succession to late pope John Paul II in 2005 which was decided in just four votes.
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