Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany named pope
By Wire
Published in News on April 19, 2005 1:50 PM
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany is the new pope.
The announcement was made at about 12:40 p.m. EDT today, about 45 minutes after white smoke poured from a chimney at the Vatican and bells tolled announcing to the world that a new pope was elected in the first papal conclave of the new millennium.
Crowds in St. Peter’s Square chanted: “Viva il Papa!” or “Long live the pope!”
“It’s only been 24 hours, surprising how fast he was elected,” Vatican Radio said, commenting on how the new pope was chosen on the conclave’s second day.
It was one of the fastest elections in the past century: Pope Pius XII was elected in 1939 in three ballots on one day, while Pope John Paul II was elected in 1978 in four ballots in one day. John Paul II’s successor was elected after either four or five ballots over two days.