Cardinals elect first pope from Americas

The 76-year-old cardinal Jose Bergoglio, from Argentina, is the first pope from South America, the first Jesuit and the first man chosen from outside Europe in more than a millennium.

He appeared before the jubilant crowds in St Peter’s Square last night after his dramatic election was confirmed by white smoke billowing from the conclave of cardinals in the Sistine Chapel.

He will be tasked with reviving Catholicism in a time of growing secularism.

Pope Francis will also face the same challenges as his predecessor in dealing with clerical sex abuse scandals within the Catholic Church and allegations of corruption within the Vatican.

Cardinal Bergoglio who had come second in the conclave which chose Pope Benedict, was described last night as both a surprise and an inspired choice.

His election went against the expectations that cardinals would seek to elect a younger candidate following the controversial resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

Addressing the crowds, and the world as Pope Francis for the first time, he was cheered as he greeted them with a “buona sera” –good evening – before joking that the cardinals had to look to “the end of the earth” to find a bishop of Rome.

He said: “The world should set off on a path of love and fraternity” adding: “I would like to thank you for your welcome, the community of Rome, it’s brotherhood, I thank you. Above all, I would like to pray for Pope Benedict XVI.”

Minutes later, a message was sent from the reactivated official papal Twitter account which read: “HABEMUS PAPAM FRANCISCUM” – which roughly translates as “We have Pope Francis.”

Pope Francis succeeds Pope Benedict XVI, whose resignation threw the church into turmoil and exposed deep divisions among cardinals tasked with finding a replacement to clean up Vatican bureaucracy embroiled in recent scandals.

Elected on the fifth ballot, Pope Francis was chosen in one of the fastest conclaves in years. The quick election was a surprise given there was no clear front-runner and that the church had been in turmoil following the upheaval unleashed by Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise resignation.

The archbishop of Buenos Aires, the son of Italian immigrants, has spent nearly his entire career in Argentina, and favours a humble lifestyle – cooking his own meals and travelling by bus.

Like other Jesuit intellectuals, Bergoglio, a regular visitor to the city’s slums, has focused on social outreach. Catholics are still buzzing over his speech last year accusing fellow church officials of hypocrisy for forgetting Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes, and urging them to go out and “Become the Word in body as well as spirit”.

Among those to pay tribute, Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the “momentous day” while American President Barack Obama welcomed the first pope from the Americas, adding: “As a champion of the poor and the most vulnerable among us, he carries forth the message of love and compassion that has inspired the world for more than two thousand years.”

The Archbishop of York John Sentamu said he was “Praying for Pope Francis I. Like St Francis of Assisi, I pray he’ll be an instrument of peace and preach the gospel.”

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, former head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, said: “I think that Pope Francis is going to be a blessing for the Catholic Church and for the world. Many will think it is a surprise choice, for me it is an inspired choice.”

Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Rev Stephen Platten, said: “It is exciting for all of us that the new Holy Father is from the New World. It is exciting too that he brings with him a profound theological background formed within the Jesuit family. It was encouraging, too, to hear of his commitment to simplicity in his own lifestyle.”