The emergence of white smoke from a chimney on the roof of the
Sistine Chapel in the Vatican has indicated to the world that cardinals have
elected a new leader for 1.2 billion Catholic Christians.
Elated crowds in St. Peter's Square screamed as the white smoke
emerged, under a sea of umbrellas on a cold and sometimes rainy evening. Yet the world is waiting anxiously to know who has been elected head of the largest religious denomination in the world. Besides, everyone is waiting.
The newly elected pope will be fitted for his white cassock, and the
other cardinals in the conclave will then each individually swear
obedience to him.
Before he appears on a balcony overlooking the square, the new pope will stop to pray in the Pauline Chapel.
Ahead of the appearance on the balcony, French Cardinal Jean-Louis
Tauran, the protodeacon, will announce "Habemus Papam," Latin for "We
have a pope!"
The new pope was selected after four ballots failed to produce a winner during a conclave that began Tuesday.
The drama unfolded against the backdrop of the turmoil unleashed by
Benedict's surprise resignation and the exposure of deep divisions among
cardinals who grappled with whether they needed a manager to clean up
the Vatican's dysfunctional bureaucracy or a pastor who can inspire
Catholics at a time of waning faith and growing secularism.
The cardinals, chosen by either Benedict XVI or John Paul II, swore
an oath of secrecy ahead of the conclave, and anyone who communicates
details about the process risks excommunication.
For more than a week before the voting, the cardinals met privately
to try to figure out who among them had the stuff to be pope and what
his priorities should be. But they ended the debate with questions still
unanswered, and many cardinals predicted a drawn-out election that
would further expose the church's divisions.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa
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