NEWS FOCUS: Pope Francis I - A New World Pope

The first South American, the first non-European in more than a millennium and the first Jesuit, a new era in the Catholic Church was ushered in as Argentinian cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was last night elected Pope Francis I.

Tens of thousands of people who braved cold rain to watch the smokestack atop the Sistine Chapel jumped for joy when white smoke poured out, many shouting “Habemus Papam!” or “We have a pope!” — as the bells of St Peter’s Basilica and churches across Rome pealed.

The Argentinian’s choice was a surprise to the hundreds of thousands of people who had packed into St Peter’s Square as well as many of the 1.2bn Catholics around the world.