Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina has emerged the new Pope (Bishop of Rome), succeeding Pope Benedict XVI who resigned last month.
The new head of the over 1 billion Catholic faithfuls will be known as 'Pope Francis'. He is 76 years old.
He becomes the first Pope from South America, which has the largest population of Catholics in the world.
After white smoke appeared over the Vatican on the second day of voting, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran announced the name, preceded by a statement in Latin: 'Habemius Papam', which means 'We have a pope.'
Shortly thereafter, the new Pope, dressed in a white robe, appeared to the hundreds who gathered at the Vatican.
'Dear brothers and sisters, good evening. As you know, the duty of the Conclave was to appoint a Bishop of Rome. It seems to me that my brother Cardinals have chosen one who is from far away, and here I am,' he said.
'First and foremost, I will like to pray for our emeritus Bishop, Benedict XVI,' he said, and then led the people in prayer, reciting the Lord's Prayer.
Pana 14/03/2013