Jorge Mario Bergoglio becomes Pope Francis I

White smoke from Sistine Chapel heralds shock decision
to elect first Latin American, first Jesuit and first
Francis to lead world's Catholics

At 7.06pm, a rain-swept but packed St Peter’s Square erupted with a mix of joy and not a little shock as clouds of white smoke told the crowds – and the rest of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics – that a new pontiff had been chosen on just the second day of voting.

But the noise that greeted the billowing smoke was nothing compared to the sound that met Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires when he appeared on the balcony as the 266th successor of St Peter.

By 8.10pm local time when the newly elected Pope Francis I emerged in white papal robes to cheers of “Viva il Papa” (“Long live the Pope”), the crowds stretched back from the vast Piazza way to the end of Via della Conciliazione, the 500-metre long road connecting the Vatican to the Tiber.

Vatican will not resurrect PM’s image

Najib, say religious leaders, must do more than shake hands
with the Holy See. He must resolve the outstanding issues.

PETALING JAYA: The dispute over the term Allah, the seizure of Malay-language bibles and more recently, the controversy surrounding an alleged Christian plot to undermine the status of Islam here have led to tension brewing between the Church and the government.

Amidst these unresolved issues, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak landed in the Vatican for an audience with the Pope yesterday.

Malaysia, the Vatican establish diplomatic ties

Najib (left) presents Pope Benedict with a painting
after a meeting at the Pope's summer residence in
Castelgandolfo July 18, 2011. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — Malaysia and the Vatican have agreed to establish formal diplomatic ties to promote mutual friendship and strengthen co-operation between both countries, Wisma Putra announced today.

The announcement came following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome today. The head of the Roman Catholic Church usually spends the summer outside the church’s capital Vatican City.