''Thank you for the welcome'': Pope Francis. Photo: AFP
The surprise selection of an Argentine, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as the new Pope electrified the world's 1.2 billion Catholics and gave a salute to what may now be fully recognised as the Latin American moment.
World leaders from Panama City to Washington to Vilnius praised the selection of the first non-European Pope in more than 12 centuries, and the first ever from the Americas, calling the break from tradition a sign the church had listened to calls to modernise.
Cardinal Bergoglio, 76, chose the name of Pope Francis for his pontificate, apparently in honour of St Francis of Assisi, and was greeted by tens of thousands of cheering faithful as he stepped out on a balcony overlooking St Peter's Square.
Reaction spread on Twitter, Facebook, emails and the airwaves. US President Barack Obama said the selection ''speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world, and alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the US share the joy of this historic day''.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement saying the UN and the religious leader ''share many common goals - from the promotion of peace, social justice and human rights, to the eradication of poverty and hunger - all core elements of sustainable development''.
In Australia, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the election of a Pope from the ''new world'' was an occasion of genuinely historic proportions. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said it was momentous.
The new Pope, a Jesuit and of Italian descent, inherits from Benedict XVI a church rocked by sex-abuse scandals amid a waning profile in an increasingly secular west. The Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests immediately called on Pope Francis to hand over secret Vatican files about child sex abuse in Australia.
While he has held positions in the curia, the church's Rome-based bureaucracy, the new Pope is not seen as a typical Vatican insider. Analysts depicted a struggle in the conclave between mostly Italian cardinals seeking to preserve the status quo and others looking to shake up the curia after last year's papal leaks scandal.
Buenos Aires archbishop Eduardo Horacio Garcia described his countryman as someone who will lead with ''humility, his closeness to the people. He proves himself through his gestures not his words, his serenity when making decisions''.
White smoke billowed from a Sistine Chapel chimney to signal Pope Francis' election just after 7pm local time on Wednesday (5am Thursday, Sydney time). After about an hour, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the senior cardinal-deacon, appeared on the verandah at St Peter's basilica and announced the time-honoured phrase, ''I have tidings of great joy: Habemus papam!'' (We have a Pope!).
''Brothers and sisters, good evening,'' the new Pope - the 266th in the church's 2000-year history - said in Italian in his first words to the crowd. ''You know that the work of the conclave is to give a bishop to Rome. It seems as if my brother cardinals went to find him from the end of the earth. Thank you for the welcome.''
Cardinals had been locked behind the Vatican walls since Tuesday, meeting in a Renaissance chapel swept for recording devices and installed with scramblers to prevent any communication.
The decision came after five votes - longer than for Benedict's succession to late Pope John Paul II in 2005, which was decided in just four votes. The historic election after Benedict's abrupt resignation last month was being followed around the world on live television as well as through social media and smartphone apps. It was the first ever conclave result to be tweeted.
with agencies
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