New Pope Chosen for Catholic Church

Pope Benedict XVI (born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger; 16 April 1927) was pope emeritus of the Catholic Church and served as the 265th pope from 2005 to 2013. In that role he was both the leader of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican City State. Benedict was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. Pope Benedict XVI officially retired from the papalcy on February 28, 2013. He left Vatican City and flew by helicopter to the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, where he waited for his resignation to take effect. There he will stay until after the conclave to elect a successor completes its task. Afterwards he will return to the Vatican, where the monastery Mater Ecclesiae is located in the Vatican Gardens and will serve as a retirement home. After his resignation, Benedict XVI retains his papal name rather than reverting to usage of his birth name, Joseph Ratzinger. Benedict XVI will give up his Fisherman's Ring, which is usually destroyed by Vatican officials on the event of the death of a pope to prevent counterfeit documents.

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Cardinals from around the world gather in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.  March 12, 2013: No winner in first vote to elect new pope . Roman Catholic cardinals signaled Wednesday, March 13, 2013, that they had failed to agree on a new pope during the early session of the second day of secret voting inside the Sistine Chapel. 

 

One voting session on Tuesday and two Wednesday morning have proved inconclusive, meaning that support has not yet coalesced around a single man but remains spread over several candidates. Much speculation has centered on Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan, as a leading contender. But also being mentioned are candidates from Brazil and even the United States, which would give the church its first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years.

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Black smoke indicates no Pope has been chosen; White smoke indicates New Pope has been elected.

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Pope Francis I: FIRST Pope Elected Outside of Europe since St. Peter Was Chosen FIRST Pope in 33 AD... many headlines will grace the newspapers, internet, cable news and other media outlets as the new pope, was elected Archbishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church on Wednesday afternoon, March 13, 2013. Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio [of Buenos Aires] becomes the 266th new Catholic leader. Bergoglio will attain the title "Pope Francis I", named for St. Francis of Assisi, whom was noted for his kindness, humility and service to others. Though Francis of Assisi was never ordained to the Catholic priesthood, Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history. Becoming "Pope Francis" will be another first for the Catholic Church, as no one else has ever taken that particular name before. Another first in this papal election is that Bergoglio is a Jesuit priest.The archbishop of Buenos Aires is the Argentine-born son of an Italian railway worker. Seen as a compassionate conservative, he reportedly came in second during the 2005 balloting that ultimately elected Benedict XVI. This papal election follows the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI on Feb. 28 due to health problems.
 

"Habemus Papam!" meaning, "We have a pope!"

  



Pope Francis I