VATICAN CITY March 14, 2013 - At past 7:00 P.M. in Rome (2:05 A.M. Philippine Time), white smoke came out of Sistine Chapel's chimney signaling that one among the cardinals of the Papal Conclave had garnered the votes of at least two-thirds of the 115 Cardinal electors.
Chants of "Habemus Papami (We have a Pope) " were heard from the thousands that gathered at St. Peter's Square.
A well-known conservative, 76 year-old Archbishop Jorge Mario Borgoglio, emerged one hour later as the elected new Pope and assumed the name, Pope Francis, and greeted thousands of well-wishers that flocked to the St. Peter's Square from the Central Window of the balcony of the St. Peter's Cathedral. He is the successor of the resigned Pope Benedict XVI.
Pope Francis is the first Jesuit Pope and also the first from Latin America where 40 percent of the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world live. He is also the first Pope Francis.
In the 2005 Conclave, the new Pope was reported to have garnered the second highest number of votes, next to the eventual winner, Pope Benedict XVI.