As white smoke emerged from the chimney in the Vatican yesterday, a new pope was elected to head the world’s Roman Catholics.
A senior cardinal confirmed the decision with the words "Habemus Papam" - Latin for "we have a Pope" - and introduced the new pontiff by his chosen papal name. St Peter's Square welcomed American, Robert Prevost, who will now be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Chosen by the votes of the Conclave, the Chicago-born pontiff, 69, was thought of by observers as a candidate who could fulfil the role, and someone who could be a bridge between different worlds. He came out in top of candidates, which included Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson - the first Ghanaian to be made a cardinal under Pope John Paul II in 2003 - Pietro Parolin, who was the Vatican's secretary of state under Pope Francis, Filipino, Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, who oversees the 80% of the population who are Catholic and hailing from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, who has been Archbishop of Kinshasa for seven years.
But it took cardinals only four rounds of voting to pick a new pope before the white smoke came out of the Sistine Chapel chimney after a day's voting, which was seen as a clear sign of the unity of the Church. The new pope was picked even faster than his predecessor.
Thanking the cardinals who elected him during the two-day conclave and speaking in Italian and Spanish to thank cardinals and former diocese, he paid tribute to St. Francis before saying: "We can all walk together towards that homeland God has prepared for us.
"A special greeting to the Church of Rome." In delivering his own blessing to the people - as Pope Francis did in his last appearance in St Peter's Square - he briefly pausing as the crowd applauded and cheered, before switching to Spanish to thank his former diocese in Peru. Addressing the cheering crow, he said: "Peace be with all of you.
"This is the first greeting of Christ resurrected, and I would like to offer a greeting of peace to reach your families and all of you, wherever you are. May peace be with you."
Describing the mass crowd as “loyal people who have shared their faith and given a lot,” he went on: "Humanity needs Christ as a bridge to be reached by God and his love,” before going on to say: “Help us, and help each other build bridges."
The Catholic Church has over a billion people worldwide, and, for Pope Francis, he was a vocal critic of the powerful, whose influence was felt far beyond faith. As for Pope Leo XIV, he becomes the 267th Bishop of Rome and will be carrying on the staunch messages that was centre of his predecessor.
