Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the Catholic Church’s Pope, taking the name Francis.
Appearing on a balcony over St Peter’s Square in Rome, he asked the faithful to pray for him, with cheers erupting as he gave a blessing.
The 76-year-old from Buenos Aires is the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to be pontiff.
Messages of goodwill have poured in from around the world. The Pope’s inaugural Mass will be next Tuesday.