Updated: Wednesday, March 13, 1:45 PM
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| Pope Francis I |
VATICAN CITY — Cardinal Jorge
Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope Wednesday, becoming the
first pontiff from the Americas and taking the name Pope Francis I.
Appearing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica a short time
later, the new pope greeted a vast crowd gathered below in St. Peter’s
Square with salutations in Italian and led a prayer for his predecessor,
Benedict XVI.
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| "Holy Smoke", the Vatican announces to the world that a new Pope has been elected. |
VATICAN CITY
(AP) -- Cardinals elected a new pope to lead the world's 1.2 billion
Catholics on Wednesday, overcoming deep divisions to select the 266th
pontiff in a remarkably fast conclave.
Tens of
thousands of people who braved cold rain to watch the smokestack atop
the Sistine Chapel jumped in joy when white smoke poured out, many
shouting "Habemus Papam!" or "We have a pope!" - as the bells of St.
Peter's Basilica and churches across Rome pealed.
The
pope, whose identity isn't yet known, is due to emerge from the loggia
overlooking St. Peter's Square to deliver his first words as the bishop
of Rome. The lag time was giving Romans plenty of time to get to St.
Peter's and a steady stream of pilgrims and tourists were making their
way.
Chants of `'Long live the pope!" rose
from the throngs of faithful, many with tears in their eyes. Crowds went
wild as the Vatican appeared on the square, blaring music, followed by
Swiss Guards in silver helmets and full regalia. At least 50,000 people
jammed into the square.
"I can't explain how happy I am right down," said Ben Canete, a 32-year-old Filipino, jumping up and down in excitement.
Elected
on the fifth ballot, the pope was chosen in one of the fastest
conclaves in years, remarkable given there was no clear front-runner
going into the vote and that the church had been in turmoil following
the upheaval unleashed by Pope Benedict XVI's surprise resignation.
A winner must receive 77 votes, or two-thirds of the 115, to be named pope.
For
comparison's sake, Benedict was elected on the fourth ballot in 2005 -
but he was the clear front-runner going into the vote. Pope John Paul II
was elected on the eighth ballot in 1978 to become the first
non-Italian pope in 455 years.
The conclave
played out against the backdrop of the first papal resignation in 600
years and revelations of mismanagement, petty bickering, infighting and
corruption in the Holy See bureaucracy. Those revelations, exposed by
the leaks of papal documents last year, had divided the College of
Cardinals into camps seeking a radical reform of the Holy See's
governance and those defending the status quo.
The
names mentioned most often as "papabile" - a cardinal who has the stuff
of a pope - included Cardinal Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan, an
intellect in the vein of Benedict but with a more outgoing personality,
and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Canadian head of the Vatican's important
bishops' office who is also scholarly but reserved like Benedict.
Brazilian
Cardinal Odilo Scherer is liked by the Vatican bureaucracy but not by
all of his countrymen. And Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary has the
backing of European cardinals who have twice elected him as head of the
European bishops' conference.
On the more
pastoral side is Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, the favorite of the
Italian press, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the back-slapping, outgoing
archbishop of New York who has admitted himself that his Italian is
pretty bad - a drawback for a job that is conducted almost exclusively
in the language.
The Vatican spokesman, the
Rev. Federico Lombardi said it was a "good hypothesis" that the pope
would be installed next Tuesday, on the feast of St. Joseph, patron
saint of the universal church. The installation Mass is attended by
heads of state from around the world, requiring at least a few days'
notice.
Benedict would not attend, he said.
Thousands
of people braved a chilly rain on Wednesday morning to watch the
6-foot- (2-meter-) high copper chimney on the chapel roof for the smoke
signals telling them whether the cardinals had settled on a choice. Nuns
recited the rosary, while children splashed in puddles.
Unlike
the confusion that reigned during the 2005 conclave, the smoke this
time around was clear: black during the first two sets of smoke signals,
and then clearly white on Wednesday night - thanks to special smoke
flares akin to those used in soccer matches or protests that were lit in
the chapel ovens to accompany the smoke from the burned ballot papers.
The
Vatican on Wednesday divulged the secret recipe used: potassium
perchlorate, anthracene, which is a derivative of coal tar, and sulfur
for the black smoke; potassium chlorate, lactose and a pine resin for
the white smoke.
The chemicals were contained
in five units of a cartridge that is placed inside the stove of the
Sistine Chapel. When activated, the five blocks ignite one after another
for about a minute apiece, creating the steady stream of smoke that
accompanies the natural smoke from the burned ballot papers.
Despite
the great plumes of smoke that poured out of the chimney, neither the
Sistine frescoes nor the cardinals inside the chapel suffered any smoke
damage, Lombardi said.
