Ratzinger Named As Pope Benedict Xvi

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the 78-year-old German bishop closely associated with the papacy of John Paul II, was today named as Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.

"I announce to you news of great joy. Habemus papam! (We have a pope)", a cardinal announced to an ecstatic crowd gathered in St Peter's Square in the Vatican.

Minutes later Pope Benedict XVI emerged onto the balcony above the square, beaming above his red and white robes, to vast cheers from the crowd. He is the first German pope in centuries.

"Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker in the Lord's vineyard. I am comforted by the fact that the lord knows how to work and how to act," the Pope told the crowd in Latin.

"Most of all I rely on your prayers. In the joy of the resurrected Lord, he is going to help us and Mary will be on our side. Thank you," he said. The Pope then proceeded to lead the crowd in a blessing.

Earlier white smoke billowed from the Vatican tonight followed by peals of bells in St Peter's Square - signalling that cardinals have elected a new pope to succeed John Paul II.

Thousands of pilgrims in the square started cheering just before 6pm (1700 BST) when white smoke stared billowing out of the slim chimney stack on the roof of the Sistine Chapel where 115 cardinals have been electing the 265th pontiff.

There was around 15 minutes of confusion among the crowd and the world's media when the smoke first appeared black but then got lighter. In a break with tradition the Vatican said this papal election would be confirmed by bells for the first time.

There was huge excitement in the crowd when the bells rang out and thousands more pilgrims were pouring into the square. They are waiting for the new pope to appear on the great balcony on the facade of St Peter's Basilica and greet the crowds.

Some pilgrims waved flags and chanted "Viva il Papa!" or "Long live the Pope!"

The election of John Paul II's successor comes on the second day of the conclave, which convened yesterday in great secrecy to elect the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.

The new pope was elected after just three or four ballots, which is one of the quickest papal elections in history, perhaps only beaten by an election in 1939 after two ballots.

Confirming the election, an announcer on Vatican Radio said: "It's only been 24 hours - surprising how fast he was elected."

The process is open-ended but no conclave in the past century has lasted more than five days. The election that elevated Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyla into the papacy as John Paul II in October 1978 took eight ballots over three days.

Commentators on this election said a long conclave may have conveyed splits in the church between traditionalists and reformers.

In the square, Niels Hendrich, a 40-year-old salesman from Hamburg jumped up and down and called his father on a mobile phone. "Habemus papam!" he shouted into the phone, using the Latin for: "We have a pope!"

Antoinette Hastings, from Kent Island, Maryland, who has artificial knees, rose from her wheelchair, grasping her hands together and crying. "I feel blessed, absolutely blessed," she said. "I just wish the rest of my family were here to experience this with me."

The new pope will now have to decide whether to keep up the kind of foreign travel that was a hallmark of John Paul's papacy, with his 104 pilgrimages abroad.

The new pontiff may be committed into one foreign trip: the mid-August Catholic youth day gathering in Cologne, Germany. John Paul II had agreed to visit and organisers have already spent millions of euros in preparation.