Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Europe Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina elected new pope First Latin American and first Jesuit elected leader of the Catholic Church to be known as Pope Francis I. Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the 266th pope, making him the leader of the 1.2 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church.

Francis I was elected on Wednesday on the second day of the conclave in Vatican City, after receiving the required two-thirds majority, or at least 77 votes of the 115 cardinal electors from 48 countries.

Francis's election was announced to the world and before hundreds of thousands of cheering crowd gathered under the rain at St Peter's Square in Rome.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the protodeacon, made the announcement with the Latin words, Habemus papam, meaning 'We have a pope'.

As a sign of the election of a new pope, the Vatican also reactivated the Twitter account @Pontifex.

Francis I succeeds Benedict XVI, who resigned on February 28, the first pontiff to do so in 598 years.

Al Jazeera has learned that Francis I has already talked on the phone with his predecessor.

Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo, reporting from Buenos Aires, described the reaction in the Argentinian capital as 'absolute shock'.

'Noboby expected him to become pope,' our correspondent said. 'People here are crying.'

Father Robert Gahl of Holy Cross University told Al Jazeera that the name Francis I was 'indicative of something historical'.

Gahl described as 'striking' the reaction to the new pope, which he said is 'way superior to what occured eight years ago, which may be a surprise to some'.

Before appearing in the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, white smoke, which signified that a new pope had been elected, rose from chimney of the Sistine Chapel, where the secret voting was held.

Continuous pealing of church bells then followed to confirm the election.

With the election of the new pope, Vatican now faces several key challenges.

Experts said the new pope's response to those will give us a significant indication of what Catholics can expect from his time as the head of the church.

One key priority is reaching out to his flock of 1.2 billion Catholics and rebuilding the relationship between the Vatican and churches around the globe.

'Much was made about whether the new pope would be one who focused on pastoral care - speaking to the faithful around the world or would he be one who tries to reform the Vatican,' Jack Valero, director of the Catholic Voices organisation, told Al Jazeera. 'In reality, he needs to do both.'

Follow coverage of the papal conclave's decision