A new pope has been elected following the secretive conclave meeting in the Vatican.
White smoke has poured from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signalling that the 133 cardinals have agreed with at least a two-thirds majority on who should be the new leader of the Catholic Church.
Thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square now wait to see which cardinal has come out a pontiff after being elected the 267th Pope.
Cardinals Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle had been among the favourites to succeed Pope Francis, who made liberal changes to the Catholic Church during his 12-year papacy.
The conclave began with a mass in St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, and senior cardinal Giovanni Battista Re prayed for the cardinals to be enlightened to choose “the Pope our time needs”.
The decision came on Thursday afternoon after ballots on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning were unable to reach the 89 votes required to elect a successor to Pope Francis.
After donning his papal robes and selecting a papal name, the new Pope will greet the faithful from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, heralding a new era for the Church.
Pope Francis died on 21 April after over a decade as head of the Church. He was buried on 26 April.
The change in leadership comes at a time of global instability, with the Ukraine war, Gaza conflict, and a divided West among significant challenges that will put the calibre of his leadership into sharp focus.
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