In a ceremony steeped in pageantry and symbolism, the Bishop of Rome was officially installed against the magnificent backdrop of St Peter’s Basilica.

There were no little old ladies dashing about with fresh cuts of altar flowers.

World and religious leaders have welcomed the election of Argentine cardinal Jorge Bergoglio to the papacy.

Cardinals elected a new pope to lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics tonight, overcoming deep divisions to select the 266th pope in a remarkably fast conclave.

No clear front-runner has emerged as a successor to Pope Benedict XVI who formally resigns today as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Benedict XVI will be known as “emeritus pope” in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced, again fuelling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope.

Pope Benedict shocked the world by saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to cope with his ministry, in an announcement that left his aides “incredulous” and will make him the first pontiff to step down since the Middle Ages.

Catholic Church leaders in Ireland were caught by surprise at yesterday’s decision by Pope Benedict to resign on Feb 28 due to poor health, according to the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin.

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI today has set in motion a complex sequence of events to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

JENNIFER Sleeman is to be thanked. She has lifted the discourse for us from a debate about the liturgy of lamentation to a debate about action.

YOUR series on religion in modern Ireland (March 20/21) covered the many influences shaping religion, the standing of religion in today’s society and the opportunities of the Celtic Tiger bridging the wide gap with darker economic climes when one alternative to the emigrant boat had the consoling name of “vocation”.

The first Vatican stamps bearing the image of Pope Benedict XVI went on sale at the Vatican today, the Vatican post office said.

IT was hard to know which shone the brightest, the searing sun on our backs, the scalding giant arc lamps of the TV cameras or the beatific smile on the face of Benedict XVI.