Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, elected as the Catholic Church’s new Pope, Francis, has greeted crowds in St Peter’s Square in Rome.
Appearing on a balcony over the square, he asked the faithful to pray for him. Cheers erupted as he gave a blessing.
The 76-year-old from Buenos Aires is the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to be pontiff.
An hour earlier, white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney announced the new Pope’s election.
He will be installed officially in an inauguration Mass on Tuesday 19 March, the Vatican said.
Source: BBC
