New Pope elected by Catholic Church as Vatican sees white smoke

White smoke is billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, meaning 115 cardinals in a papal conclave have elected a new leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

The new pope is expected to appear on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica within an hour, after a church official announces "Habemus Papum" - "We have a pope" - and gives the name of the new pontiff in Latin.

The conclave was called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned last month, throwing the church into turmoil and exposing deep divisions among cardinals tasked with finding a manager to clean up a corrupt Vatican bureaucracy as well as a pastor who can revive Catholicism in a time of growing secularism.The 266th pope now changes into his papal white cassock, and one-by-one the cardinals approach him to swear their obedience.He will stop and pray in the Pauline Chapel for a few minutes before emerging on the loggia of the balcony overlooking St Peter's Square.Preceding him to the balcony is French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the protodeacon, who announces "Habemus Papam!" and then introduces him to the world in Latin.

He then emerges and delivers his first public words as the leader of the world's Catholics.Black smoke spread across St Peter’s Square this morning as the Catholic church’s 115 top cardinals again struggled to elect a new pope.The “fumata” was seen coming out of the copper chimney installed in the roof of the Sistine Chapel at about 10.40am, indicating that the first two votes today had been inconclusive.Thousands of pilgrims braved the rain in the Vatican as the so-called “princes of the church” re-entered their conclave in the Sistine Chapel at 9am after breakfast and prayers. They are due to vote up to four times a day as the search continues for a successor to Benedict XVI.

Black smoke first emerged from the copper chimney on the roof of the chapel about 6.45pm yesterday to indicate that no candidate had secured 77 votes and the required two-thirds majority to become the 266th pope. Some Americans in the crowd yelled out “non habemus papam” - we don’t have a Pope.
Today’s smoke lead observers to speculate that the Italian favourite, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the 71-year-old archbishop of Milan, had slipped back after reportedly securing up to 50 votes in the first round and the election was now wide open.

La Stampa newspaper today claimed that Cardinal Scola was said by some to be too close to figures embroiled in an emerging health contracts scandal in Milan.The smoke signal this morning meant that the two votes this morning had both failed, with proceedings slightly quicker than anticipated. Two more votes were due this afternoon, with the next signal due at about 7pm - though a result in the fourth ballot could see white smoke around 5pm.The 2005 that elected Benedict required four rounds of voting before Benedict was elected.The ex-pontiff, who announced his abdication on health grounds last month, watched events unfold on TV at his temporary home in Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome. He will move into a converted monastery in the south-west corner of the Vatican later in the month, once a new pope takes office.Cardinal Scola is reportedly being championed by a largely non-Italian faction within the cardinal-electors that is keen to challenge the entrenched power of the Vatican cardinals.His chief rival is said to be the archbishop of Sao Paolo, Odilo Scherer, 63, who would be the first pope from a developing country. The appointment of a Brazilian pontiff would recognise the fact that two-thirds of Catholics now live outside Europe.Other cardinals named as contenders include Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Columbo, Peter Erdo, the archbishop of Budapest, and French-Canadian Marc Ouellet, 68, the Vatican’s chief theological watchdog. However he has been tainted by suggestions that he brokered a deal to allow the Scottish cardinal Keith O’Brien to retire while facing allegations of sexual misconduct.There were also suggestions that the next pope could be an American - which the Vatican has traditionally avoided due to the US’s superpower status. Sean O’Malley, 68, the archbishop of Boston and the only Capuchin friar among the cardinal-electors, was attracting praise for his reforming credentials.

Many pundits say the unprecedented pressures on the church hierarchy – brought not only by a raft of scandals but also by the diverging interests of Catholics in first and third world countries -- mean the election is difficult to call. “Managerial skills will surely be useful,” Vienna Archbishop Christoph Schoenborn told La Stampa.Many cardinals are said to be weighing up the need for an overhaul of the church’s allegedly corrupt and bungling central ruling body, the Curia, in the wake of the cover-up of global allegations of child abuse by priests and the troubled activities of the Vatican bank.In a week of discussions among the cardinals in advance of the conclave, many are said to have sought more detail on a confidential 30-page report prepared for Benedict that reportedly contains allegations of a “gay lobby” inside the Vatican.The name of the next supreme pontiff will be announced to the world from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica by the Cardinal Protodeacon, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who will address those gathered in St Peter’s Square in Latin. He will begin the address by declaring “Habemus Papam” - we have a Pope - before announcing the Latin version of the new pope’s baptismal name.