Smoke signals: How is a new pope elected?

Smoke signals: How is a new pope elected?

(CNN) -- New pope With Pope Benedict XVI leaving the papal office after resigning two weeks ago, the Roman Catholic Church will have to rush to pick his replacement before Easter.

Normally, the College of Cardinals is not allowed to select a new pontiff until 15 to 20 days after the office becomes vacant -- usually when the previous pope has died.

Benedict's resignation is a rare exception. The last man to quit the head of the Catholic Church did so 600 years ago.

The situation calls for some rule bending, and having the current pope involved is proving advantageous.

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 Benedict's final papal audience
 Cardinal Dolan on voting for next pope
He has slightly amended the 500-year-old policy on pope selection to get a successor into place more rapidly.

The cardinals may to be able to pull it off before March 15, according to Father Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman.

This would give the new pontiff a little over a week to prepare for the next mass, Palm Sunday celebrations, on March 24.

While Benedict won't be directly involved in his successor's selection, his influence will undoubtedly be felt.

He appointed 67 of at least 115 cardinals set to make the decision.

The pope gives his last audience Wednesday morning. His last day on the job is Thursday.

Here's a look at the process of electing a new pope:
A look at possible papal contenders
What has to happen first?

There were traditionally three methods of choosing a new pope, but the church abolished two, leaving cardinals to pick a peer via paper ballot only.

When a pope dies, the dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals calls for a meeting of all cardinals eligible to vote -- those under age 80.

They have to vote in person. Although some work at the Vatican, most are spread out worldwide, running dioceses or archdioceses, and will have to travel to Rome.

Once they get there, they can't leave until the process is done and aren't allowed to talk with anyone outside of the conclave.

 Catholic population in numbers
 Catholic population in percentages
Though Benedict left the rules greatly untouched, experts on the church's constitution will comb through the section on the "Vacancy of the Apostolic See and the Election of the Roman Pontiff" (how to elect a new pope when the office is vacant) and interpret proper protocol for the election.

Benedict's predecessor, the widely popular John Paul II, made a number of changes to the voting process in 1996 to make it less taxing on the cardinals.
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Will the world get to see the process?

Although the procedure is transparent to participating cardinals, no one else is supposed to find out about the vote.

In his amendments to voting procedures in 1996, John Paul II anticipated modern forms of communication and forbade any recording devices. He ordered that technicians check the Sistine Chapel for hidden microphones or cameras before the balloting begins.

The new pope would be called to deal with violators personally.

"They will be subject to grave penalties according to the judgment of the future pope," the former pontiff wrote.

Notes cardinals make during the voting must be burned with the ballots.
The final declaration of a winner is sealed in an envelope and archived. It may be opened only by order of the pope.

The pope in retirement: What to expect
What does balloting look like?

The meeting of cardinals, called the conclave, usually begins with a special morning mass in St. Peter's Basilica. In the afternoon, they walk in a procession to the Sistine Chapel -- known for its famous ceiling painting by Renaissance artist Michelangelo -- to begin the voting process.

Ballots are passed out, and cardinals write in a candidate's name and fold it up, then one by one, in order of seniority, they approach an altar and ceremoniously place their ballots into a chalice.

Voting is secret, but ballots are counted in the open. A cardinal needs a vote of two-thirds to ascend to the papacy. If there is no winner, the vote is repeated one time on the first day.

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What does the smoke from the chimney mean?

After some of the rounds of voting, the ballots land in a furnace. If no one has won, a chemical is added to make the smoke black. This lets people waiting in St. Peter's Square below know that there is no new pope yet.

If there is a winner, no chemical is added, and the smoke remains white, telling the world that the conclave has agreed on a new pontiff.

In the past, it has been hard for the crowd waiting in St. Peter's Square below to discern the color, which has sometimes billowed out in shades of gray. The Vatican has attempted to remedy this by adding a second furnace to boost the intended color.

Scandal threatens to overshadow pope's final days
What if there is no winner?

Then they vote again, and again, and again.
The cardinals may cast ballots as many as four times on the second and third days, according to voting rules laid down by John Paul II.

By the end of the third day, if there is still no new pope, they break for a day for prayer, discussions and admonitions from a senior cardinal. This recovery day was instituted by John Paul II.

Voting can go on for another seven rounds of balloting. Still no pope? Keep voting.
John Paul had decided to save the cardinals from themselves, if they reach this point. He reduced the necessary result to elect a new pope to an absolute majority -- 50% plus one vote -- if they cross this tiring threshold.

But in 2007, Benedict reversed the rule, so once again, two-thirds are needed to elect, according to CNN's Vatican expert, John Allen. The pope emeritus preserved the day of rest on every third day of a deadlock.
A long deadlock would be unusual, according to the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island. Of the past 11 conclaves, none has run longer than four days.

When there's finally a winner, what next?

The winner must accept the decision for it to be valid. Once he does, the dean asks him to choose a papal name. The oldest cardinal announces the new pope to the crowd in the square from a balcony. The new pope joins him to bless the crowd and the rest of the world.

Past popes have been crowned during a coronation ceremony, but John Paul II refused it, and Benedict followed suit. Both were inaugurated in a mass in St. Peter's Cathedral.

Could the next pope be from Africa or Latin America?

Pope Francis holds first mass with cardinals inside Sistine Chapel

Pope Francis holds first mass with cardinals inside Sistine Chapel 

New pope Pope Francis held his first mass as leader of the Catholic Church Thursday, urging cardinals that the church should stick to its roots and avoid modern temptations.

In his first homily at the Sistine Chapel, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 76-year-old Argentine cardinal who was elected pope by his peers on Wednesday, warned that the church risked becoming a "pitiful" non-governmental organization unless it goes through spiritual renewal and focuses on the message of Jesus Christ, Sky News reports.

"If we do not confess to Christ what would we be?" Francis said. "We would end up a pitiful NGO. What would happen would be like when children make sand castles and then it all falls down."

Francis and all the cardinals in attendance wore light yellow robes over their cassocks, while the new pope spoke in Italian without notes.

Earlier Thursday, Francis stopped by his hotel to pick up his luggage and pay the bill himself and praying at Rome's main basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

He entered the St. Mary Major basilica through a side entrance just after 8 a.m. and left about 30 minutes later.

"He spoke to us cordially, like a father," Father Ludovico Melo, a priest who prayed with Pope Francis, told Reuters. "We were given 10 minutes' advance notice that the pope was coming."

After becoming the first pontiff from the Americans, Francis had told a crowd of some 100,000 people packed in rain-soaked St. Peter's Square just after his election that he intended to pray Friday to the Madonna "that she may watch over all of Rome."

Bergoglio chose the name Francis, drawing connections to the humble 13th-century saint who saw his calling as trying to rebuild the church in a time of turmoil.

Benedict's longtime aide, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, accompanied Francis to the visit Thursday morning at St. Mary Major. In addition to being Benedict's secretary, Gaenswein is also the prefect of the papal household and will be arranging the new pope's schedule.

Like many Latin American Catholics, Francis has a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary, and his visit to the basilica was a reflection of that. He prayed before a Byzantine icon of Mary and the infant Jesus, the Protectress of the Roman People.

"He had a great devotion to this icon of Mary and every time he comes from Argentina he visits this basilica," said one of the priests at the basilica, the Rev. Elio Montenero. "We were surprised today because he did not announce his visit."

He then went into the main altar area of the basilica and prayed before relics of the manger in Bethlehem where Jesus is said to have been born — an important pilgrimage spot for Jesuits.

Members of his flock were charmed Thursday when Francis stopped by the Vatican-owned residence where he routinely stays during visits to Rome.

The Rev. Pawel Rytel-Andrianek, who teaches at the nearby Pontifical Holy Cross University and is staying at the residence, said he didn't just come to get his luggage, noting that anyone could have come to get his suitcases.

"He wanted to come here because he wanted to thank the personnel, people who work in this house," he said. Francis met with the staff in the dining room. "He greeted them one by one, no rush, the whole staff, one by one," Rytel-Andrianek said, noting that the pope knew everyone by name.

"People say that he never in these 20 years asked for a (Vatican) car," he said. "Even when he went for the conclave with a priest from his diocese, he just walked out to the main road, he picked up a taxi and went to the conclave. So very simple for a future pope."

Francis has also spoken by phone with Benedict, who became the first pope to resign in 600 years and has been living at the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo. Francis was expected to visit him this week, but a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Thomas Rosica, said Francis wouldn't make the trip to Castel Gandolfo on Thursday, and probably wouldn't go Friday, either.

The visit is significant because Benedict's resignation has raised concerns about potential power conflicts emerging from the peculiar situation of having a reigning pope and a retired one.

As the long-time archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis has spent nearly his entire career at home in Argentina, overseeing churches and shoe-leather priests. In choosing a 76-year-old pope, the cardinals clearly decided that they didn't need a vigorous, young pope who would reign for decades but rather a seasoned, popular and humble pastor who would draw followers to the faith and help rebuild a church stained by scandal.

Groups of supporters waved Argentine flags Wednesday night in St. Peter's Square as Francis, wearing simple white robes, made his first public appearance as pope.

Chants of "Long live the pope!" arose from the throngs of faithful, many with tears in their eyes. Crowds went wild as the Vatican and Italian military bands marched through the square and up the steps of the basilica, followed by Swiss Guards in silver helmets and full regalia.

Francis appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica just after a church official announced "Habemus Papum" -- "We have a pope" -- and gave Bergoglio's name in Latin.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening," he said to wild cheers before making a reference to his roots in Latin America, which accounts for about 40 percent of the world's Roman Catholics.

Francis asked for prayers for himself, and for retired Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose resignation paved the way for the conclave that brought the first Jesuit to the papacy.

"You know that the work of the conclave is to give a bishop to Rome," Francis said. "It seems as if my brother cardinals went to find him from the end of the earth. Thank you for the welcome."

Bergoglio has shown a keen political sensibility as well as the kind of self-effacing humility that fellow cardinals value highly, according to his official biographer, Sergio Rubin. He showed that humility on Wednesday, saying that before he blessed the crowd he wanted their prayers for him and bowed his head.

"Good night, and have a good rest," he said before going back into the palace.

In a lifetime of teaching and leading priests in Latin America, which has the largest share of the world's Catholics, Francis has been known for modernizing an Argentine church that had been among the most conservative in Latin America.

Like other Jesuit intellectuals, Bergoglio has focused on social outreach. Catholics are still buzzing over his speech last year accusing fellow church officials of hypocrisy for forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes.

Francis, the son of middle-class Italian immigrants, is known as a humble man who denied himself the luxuries that previous Buenos Aires cardinals enjoyed. Bergoglio often rode the bus to work, cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina's capital.

He came close to becoming pope in 2005, reportedly gaining the second-highest vote total in several rounds of voting before he bowed out of the running in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

American Cardinal Timothy Dolan gave an inside glimpse into the drama of the conclave in his talk at the American seminary.

When the tally reached the necessary 77 votes to make Bergoglio pope, Dolan said, the cardinals erupted in applause. And when he accepted the momentous responsibility thrust upon him -- ''there wasn't a dry eye in the place," Dolan recounted.

After the princes of the church had congratulated the new pope one by one, other Vatican officials wanted to do the same, but Francis preferred to go outside and greet the throngs of faithful. ''Maybe we should go to the balcony first," Dolan recalled the pope as saying.

Elected on the fifth ballot, Francis was chosen in one of the fastest conclaves in years, remarkable given there was no clear front-runner going into the vote and that the church had been in turmoil following the upheaval unleashed by Benedict's surprise resignation.

For comparison's sake, Benedict was elected on the fourth ballot in 2005 -- but he was the clear front-runner going into the vote. Pope John Paul II was elected on the eighth ballot in 1978 to become the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

In choosing to call himself Francis, the new pope was linking himself with the much-loved Italian saint from Assisi associated with peace, poverty and simplicity. St. Francis was born to a wealthy family but later renounced his wealth and founded the Franciscan order of friars; he wandered about the countryside preaching to the people in very simple language.

He was so famed for his sanctity that he was canonized just two years after his death in 1226.

Francis will be installed officially as pope on Tuesday, on the feast of St. Joseph, patron saint of the universal church, according to Vatican spokesman Lombardi.

Lombardi, also a Jesuit, said he was particularly stunned by the election given that Jesuits typically shun positions of authority in the church, instead offering their work in service to those in power.

But Lombardi said that in accepting the election, Francis must have felt it "a strong call to service," an antidote to all those who speculated that the papacy was about a search for power.

In an interesting twist the Jesuits were expelled from all of the Americas in the mid-18th century. Now, a Latin American Jesuit has been elected head of the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church.

Trading in the bus for a butler: The new pope's new lifestyle

Trading in the bus for a butler: The new pope's new lifestyle

By Jeff Black and Tracy Connor, NBC News
New pope The Mercedes popemobile. The 10-room penthouse apartment. The Swiss Guards.
The worldly trappings of the papacy will be a big adjustment for a former prince of the church who tried to live like a pauper.
Before he was Pope Francis, Argentinian archbishop Jorge Bergoglio was known for shunning the perks of the job -- the palace, the chauffeur, the red vestments -- for a simpler life befitting a Jesuit priest.
Now that he's leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, the man who took a vow of poverty at age 22 will have to get off the bus and get used to having a butler.
Or maybe it's the Vatican that's in for a change. Within minutes of being named pontiff, the new boss was already putting a stamp of simplicity on papal life.
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He did not sit on the papal throne to receive the cardinals, he didn't don a red cloak over his white cassock, and he declined to take an official car back to the hotel, opting to take the bus with the rest of the group, a Vatican spokesman said Thursday.

Osservatore Romano / Reuters file
He used to take the bus, but this is Pope Francis' new ride.

In Buenos Aires, Bergoglio walked to his office and often used buses -- likened by one travel writer to "old men in a bar – loud, smoky, rough around the edges" -- to get around town.
He's unlikely to have that lack of luxury as pope, if only for security reasons. His main ride will be the white armored Mercedes SUV with an elevated glass enclosure, known to the world as the popemobile. The interior is white leather with gold trim.
For longer jaunts across Italy he has the option of a helicopter, staffed by pilots from the Italian Air Force. Commercial jets are chartered for flights around the world, and the pope sits up front.
His new digs will be first-class, too.
As a cardinal, Bergoglio was entitled to live in an opulent mansion but chose to bed down in a spartan downtown apartment, keeping warm with a stove when the building turned off the heat on weekends, according to The Associated Press.
Soon he'll move to a sprawling wrap-around suite on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace that 200 workers spent three months renovating in 2005.

There's a private chapel, a medical office, a library large enough to hold Pope Benedict XVI's 20,000 books, a state-of-the-art German kitchen with onyx counters, and the office from which he blesses the crowd in St. Peter's on Sundays.

A lavish home fit for a pope
The floors are 16th century inlaid marble polished to a gleam. The loggia that leads to the apartment is covered in historic frescoes. There's access to a rooftop garden, and the attic has small apartments for guests and staff.
The household retinue includes a butler, a couple of secretaries, and women from a lay association known as Memores Domini who cook and clean.
That will seem like a crowd to Pope Francis, who lived alone in Argentina and spent every morning sitting next to his landline phone, personally taking calls from parish priests and recording their complaints and requests in a small notebook, a former aide told NBC Latino.

Bergoglio also cooked for himself, and his favorite meal might horrify the average Italian: skinless chicken and salad. He does enjoy a glass of wine -- or a shot of espresso while in Rome -- but usually settles down with a spot of Argentinian tea called mate.
At the Vatican, typical meals might include pasta with salmon and zucchini or rigatoni with prosciutto, prepared on a marble table with vegetables imported from the papal vacation home, Castel Gandolfo. Rich desserts like strudel or tiramisu were on the menu under Benedict's watch.
If he packs on a few pounds, no worries: A major wardrobe change is also in the offing.
While some cardinals seem to love cloaking themselves in the crimson robes that advertise their rarefied status, Bergoglio covered up with a black overcoat. The Argentinian newspaper La Nacion reported that he didn't order new clothes when he was elevated; he had the previous cardinal's hand-me-downs tailored to fit him.

After Pope Francis was elected on Wednesday evening, the papal tailor Gammarelli's would have offered him a burgundy mozzetta, a short cape either in red velvet trimmed in white fur or in silk brocade to wear over his cassock. He demurred, and no one will be shocked if he decides against the red leather slippers that became Benedict's trademark.
Even though he was his country's top church official, Bergoglio rarely interacted with the press, preferring to make his points from the pulpit. Soon he'll have reporters from around the world scrutinizing his every word and gesture.
Father Jorge, as he was called at home, will be known as His Holiness. But those close to him expect the railway worker's son will cling to some of the pared-down aspects of his former existence.
"This routine is his life's backbone," Father Guillermo Marcó, who worked for him for eight years, told NBC Latino. "And he will try to keep it in place as much as possible."

New pope talks courage on first day

New pope talks courage on first day

Vatican City (CNN) -- New pope Pope Francis on Thursday emphasized church advancement in his first Mass with the cardinals who elected him pontiff a day earlier.

With solemnity, he delivered a homily about moving the Catholic Church forward to the cardinal electors, who were dressed in light yellow robes. Altar servers burned incense in the Sistine Chapel, the setting for the Mass.

Speaking in Italian, Francis didn't use a script and kept the sermon short, calling on the cardinals to have courage.

"When we don't walk, we are stuck. When we don't build on the rock, what happens? It's what happens to children when they build a sand castle and it all then falls down," the new pontiff said.

Pope Francis to followers: 'Here I am'

The new pope waves to cheering crowd

White smoke signals election of new pope

Photos: The world reacts to new pope Photos: The world reacts to new pope

"When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we confess without the cross, we are not disciples of Christ. We are mundane," he said. "We are all but disciples of our Lord.

"I would like for all of us, after these days of grace, that we find courage to walk in the presence of God ... and to build the church with the blood of Christ," the pope continued. "Only this way will the church move forward."

During the service, the cardinals prayed for the new pope and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI so "that he may serve the Church while hidden to the world, in a life dedicated to prayer and meditation," the Vatican said.

When Jorge Bergoglio stepped onto the balcony at the Vatican on Wednesday evening to reveal himself as the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, he made history as the first non-European pope of the modern era, the first from Latin America, the first Jesuit and the first to assume the name Francis.

Francis began Thursday by praying at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, a place of special significance for the Jesuits.

What do you think about the new pope? Tell us.

His next public appearance is likely to be Sunday. The new pontiff will "very probably" celebrate Mass at St. Peter's and then deliver the traditional Angelus blessing, said the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman.

But it won't be until Tuesday that Francis will be formally installed as pope.

That's by design. The day coincides with the Feast of St. Joseph, the patron saint of Italy.

In a letter dated Wednesday to Rome's chief rabbi, the new pope promised "renovated cooperation" between Catholics and Jews.

"I vividly hope I'll contribute to the progress" of relations between Jewish and Catholic people that they "have known starting from the Vatican II Council" in the 1960s, Francis wrote to Riccardo Di Segni.

The new pope said he was also acting in a spirit of "helping the world to be always more in harmony with the will of the Creator."

READ: Catholic Latin America eyes conclave

The new pontiff will meet with all the cardinals, not just those who were eligible to vote for him, on Friday and will hold an audience with the media on Saturday, Lombardi said.

Already, a picture is emerging of a humble man who shies away from the trappings of his new status and is devoted to his pastoral duties.

As pope, Francis will have plenty to deal with. He takes the helm of a Roman Catholic Church that has been rocked in recent years by sex abuse by priests, and claims of corruption and infighting among the church hierarchy.

Reflecting the urgency of those concerns, a group representing the alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests has written an open letter to Francis requesting a meeting.

"Your predecessor met only a few times with a few carefully chosen victims in tightly choreographed settings, as he visited nations where this crisis had reached a fever pitch," the letter from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests states.

"We write today seeking a different kind of meeting -- one in which our respective organizations -- yours, huge and struggling, and ours, small and struggling -- can begin to work together to safeguard children across the globe."

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, one alleged victim of priest sex abuse, Michael Duran, urged Pope Francis to give Catholics new hope and make priests and cardinals accountable for their actions in cases where children have been sexually abused by clergymen.

Duran said he was sexually abused for three years by a Los Angeles Archdiocese priest beginning in 1983, when Duran was 11.

He and three other men allegedly sexually abused as boys by the same priest settled their lawsuits for $9.9 million against the archdiocese, Cardinal Roger Mahony and the now defrocked priest. Mahony was among the 115 cardinals in Rome who participated in the papal election this week.

Duran said he felt vindicated by the settlement. He and his attorney said authorities should investigate Mahony for his handling of child abuse complaints against the former priest, Michael Baker. The priest, who couldn't be reached for comment, served a prison sentence for molesting boys, Duran's attorneys said.

Conservative reformer

The 76-year-old leader, who served as the archbishop of Buenos Aires, is the first pope to take the name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, revered among Catholics for his work with the poor.

The pontiff is a follower of the church's most social conservative wing. As a cardinal, he clashed with the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over his opposition to gay marriage and free distribution of contraceptives.

He was runner-up in the 2005 papal conclave, behind then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

The new pope brings together the first and the developing worlds. Latin America is home to 480 million Catholics.

Francis' first public appearance as pope -- when he appealed for the crowds to pray for him before he gave a blessing -- suggested a "different pastoral style" in comparison with the more academic approach of Benedict, said Lombardi.

Francis is someone who has had "a day-to-day link with the population and ordinary people" during his many years at the head of a large diocese in Buenos Aires, he said.

He also sought to dampen concerns prompted by media reports that the new pope has only one lung.

Although Francis had part of one lung removed when he was a young man, the whole lung was not removed and the new pope is in good health, Lombardi said.

CNN iReporter Cesar Sotolongo in Lima, Peru, said the election of a Latin American pope, particularly from the Jesuit order, marked "a new chapter" for the Catholic Church.

Originally from Florida, Sotolongo also has his own advice for Francis: "The pope should shape the church with what he has been doing during his career (as an example)," he said. "Stay in contact with the people, communicate clearly, promote the unification of faith and ... represent the word of Jesus."

A Jesuit pope

Born in Buenos Aires to an Italian immigrant father, Francis is known for his simplicity.

Details given by Lombardi on Thursday of Francis' first hours as pope reinforce that impression -- one which may go down well with his global flock, many of whom live in poverty or are feeling the squeeze of austerity.

Francis stood, rather than sitting on a throne, to receive the oath of allegiance from his fellow cardinals after his election, and for his appearance on the balcony wore just a white cassock and a simple cross, eschewing gold or jewels, Lombardi said.

Also, on the ride back from the Sistine Chapel to the Santa Marta residence, he declined the papal car that had been prepared for him and instead took the bus with other cardinals, Lombardi said.

A Jesuit's take: What it means for Francis to become pope

And Francis thanked the other cardinals at dinner, joking, "May God forgive you for what you have done," Lombardi said.

Francis will remove the seals from the official papal apartments Thursday but will not move in until renovations are complete, he added. The new pontiff will live in a suite at the Santa Marta residence until the papal apartments are ready.

In Buenos Aires, Francis chose to live in an apartment rather than the archbishop's palace, passed on a chauffeured limousine, took the bus to work and cooked his own meals.

He was ordained by the Jesuits in 1969. He became co-archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1997 and sole archbishop of that city one year later.

He was made a cardinal in 2001 and served as president of the Argentine bishops conference from 2005 to 2011.

As a Jesuit, Francis is a member of the Society of Jesus, one of the biggest and most important orders in the church.

Jesuits are recognized for their exceptional educational institutions and focus on social justice.

"Jesuits are characterized by their service to the church ... but trying to avoid positions of power," said Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, who is also a Jesuit. "I am absolutely convinced that we have a pope who wants to serve.

"His election was the election of a rejection of power."

'Most stunning' choice of name

His selection of the name of Pope Francis is "the most stunning" choice and "precedent shattering," CNN Vatican analyst John Allen said. "The new pope is sending a signal that this will not be business as usual."

The name symbolizes "poverty, humility, simplicity and rebuilding the Catholic Church," Allen said.

Miguel Diaz, a former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, agreed, calling the new pontiff's choice of names "very significant."

"Francis of Assisi is the saint who opted for the little ones in God's kingdom," he said. "This man represents a change and could potentially be a great gift for leadership, servant leadership, for all of us within the church and society."

It is something the Catholic Church says it desperately needs.

"If you look back over the past years -- the crisis of abuse, the scandals here at the Vatican, financial mismanagement, questions about the leaks and everything -- when you step back from it all, every crisis we faced ultimately is a crisis of holiness that we've missed the calling," said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, the Vatican's deputy spokesman.

"We've moved far away from what we're supposed to be."

READ: Pope Francis: First Catholic leader from Latin America

World reacts

Word of the election of Pope Francis, who was not considered a frontrunner among analysts, quickly spread around the globe, with everyone from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to U.S. President Barack Obama offering congratulations.

"As the first pope from the Americas, his selection also 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 United States share the joy of this historic day," Obama said.

Ban said the new pope shares common goals with the United Nations, from the promotion of peace to social justice. "We also share the conviction that we can only resolve the interconnected challenges of today's world through dialogue," he said.

There is likely to be no shortage of invitations for Pope Francis to travel to the four corners of the globe in the pursuit of such goals.

Syria's Patriarch Gregory III Laham of Antioch, who heads the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, on Thursday invited Francis to visit Syria, Jerusalem and Lebanon for peace and reconciliation, according to Syria's official news agency.

Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also urged him to visit the Middle East.

"He'll be a welcome guest in the Holy Land, as a man of inspiration that can add to the attempt to bring peace in a stormy area," said Peres.

Nowhere was the reaction to Francis' selection as pope more heartfelt than in Latin America.

"I am truly still very surprised ... not just that a Latino pope came out, but that he is an Argentinian from Buenos Aires," the Rev. Eduardo Mangiarotti, an Argentine priest, told CNN en Español.

It's a "huge event" not only for the church in Latin America but worldwide, he said.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, greeted the selection with "extraordinary joy."

"I have been hoping that we would move into the Southern Hemisphere, and especially I think many of us had hoped ... we would have a pope who would come from Latin America," he said.

"One-half of the Catholics in the world are from Latin America, so this is a way the cardinals have very graciously acknowledged that."

Filipino priest and CNN iReporter Joel Camaya was among the tens of thousands who witnessed history Wednesday night in St. Peter's Square, as Francis emerged on the balcony.

"The multitude, from all parts of the world, were ecstatic to be in the square for this beautiful occasion," he said. "This was one event that left me teary-eyed and thanking God for making me a Catholic."