White smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Vatican's Sistine Chapel on Thursday, May 8, signaling that the 133 cardinals inside have elected a new pope. They picked a successor to Pope Francis on the second day of voting, but the world's 1.4 billion Catholics will have to wait for the official announcement from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica to learn who he is.
The crowd in St Peter's Square erupted in cheers. The name will be announced when a top cardinal utters the words "Habemus Papam!" – Latin for "We have a pope!" – from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. The cardinal then reads the winner's birth name in Latin, and reveals the name he has chosen to be called. The new pope is then expected to make his first public appearance and impart a blessing from the same loggia.