Ratzinger clears the smoke

The new pope appeared on the balcony of St Peter8217;s soon after his election, smiling broadly and greeting the crowds in the square. 8216;8216;I entrust myself to your prayers,8217;8217; he said.

Clad in white papal vestments and a short red cape, he then delivered his first blessing to the city of Rome and the world.

Ratzinger8217;s stern leadership of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the modern successor to the Inquisition, delighted conservative Catholics but upset moderates and other Christians whose churches he described as deficient.

Born in Bavaria on April 16, 1927, Ratzinger was a leading theology professor and then archbishop of Munich before taking over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981.

The election on only the second day of a conclave in the Vatican8217;s frescoed Sistine Chapel was signalled by white smoke from the chapel chimney and the tolling of the bells of St. Peter8217;s Basilica. But there was 10 minutes of confusion over the colour of the smoke, which initially seemed grey, before the bells began pealing to signal the successful election.

Tens of thousands of people in the square cheered and applauded even before the bells began to ring, shouting 8216;8216;A Pope, a Pope!8217;8217; Many held up crosses or flags.

Hundreds more people flooded into the square when they heard the news. 8216;8216;I knew the smoke was white! We have a new Pope,8217;8217; said 19-year-old Silvia Cirello, standing on top of a plastic chair to get a better view. A group of priests and nuns shouted, 8216;8216;Papa! Papa! Papa!8217;8217;.

It was only the third time in a century that a Pope had been chosen on the second day of a conclave.

Ratzinger won a two-thirds majority or at least 77 votes to become Pope. The election came much more quickly than most Vatican experts had predicted. Ratzinger was the oldest cardinal to be named Pope since Clement XII, who was also 78 when he became Pope in 1730.

He is the first German Pope since Victor II 1055-1057.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT POPE BENEDICT XVI

8226; Born in Bavaria, Germany, on April 16, 1927.

8226; Ratzinger was a liberal theological adviser at the SecondVatican Council but became a conservative after the 1968 student movement prompted him to defend the faith against secularism.

8226; He was archbishop of Munich before taking over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981 as the Roman Catholic Church8217;s Chief ideologue.

8226; Ratzinger disciplined Latin American 8220;liberation theology8221;theologians, denounced homosexuality and gay marriage and pressured Asian priests who saw non-Christian religions as part of God8217;s plan for humanity.

8226; In 2000, he branded other Christian churches as deficient8212; shocking Anglicans, Lutherans and other Protestants in ecumenical dialogue with Rome for years. 8212;Reuters