A puff of white smoke ..... and the Catholic Church has a new Pope.
He'll be known as Pope Francis, a man some bookmakers had ranked as low as 40th on their list of favourites going into the conclave, not even taking bets on him.
But after five rounds of voting by the Church's College of Cardinals, the traditional white smoke was sent out from the Sistine Chapel's chimney to signal a choice.
Ron Sutton has the story.
(Crowd noise fades in ... announcement in Latin ... crowd noise ... more in Latin ... crowd noise fades under ...)
Senior Cardinal deacon Jean-Louis Tauran, of France, announcing the choice of the new Pope from the balcony at Saint Peter's Square in Rome.
The new Pope is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76-year-old archbishop of Buenos Aires, who becomes the first Pope from the Americas.
He is the first non-European Pope in more than 12-hundred years, since before The Great Schism between the Catholic Church based in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Syrian-born Pope Gregory the Third was the last non-European, in the Eighth Century.
A crowd of tens-of-thousands standing in Saint Peter's Square has greeted the new Pope enthusiastically as he, himself, stepped onto the balcony to speak.
(Latin, then translated:) "Good evening. (cheering ...) You know that the duty of the conclave was to provide Rome with a bishop. It looks as if my brothers, the cardinals, went to fetch him at the end of the world."
It was fitting humility from the first Pope from the Jesuit society of the Catholic Church, an order of priests known historically for willingly working in the most trying conditions.
The man who will be known as Pope Francis the First is understood to have taken his name from Saint Francis of Assisi, a symbol of ascesticism from the 13th Century.
Saint Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan Order of the Church, whose followers take an oath of poverty.
The head of Australia's Jesuit order, Father Steve Curtin, says there is a logic to why Pope Francis is the first Jesuit Pope -- and why it comes now, as scandal taints the Church.
"Our founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in the 16th Century, actively discouraged us from taking on episcopal appointments. There actually are not a lot of Jesuit bishops in the world. I think Ignatius saw our role as being different. And I think, during the 16th Century and during the Reformation, I think he felt that high office was ... you know, there was corruption in the Church and, the higher up you went in the Church, the more tempted you were to lose touch with ordinary people. So I think, having a Jesuit in the role, this particular Pope has had a very strong commitment to staying close to the people, close to the poor."
The new Pope was widely considered the runner-up in voting when Pope Benedict the 16th was named as the previous Pope eight years ago.
But he was not considered among the leading candidates this time after Pope Benedict became the first Pope in 600 years to step down, citing his advancing age at 85.
Pope Francis is only two years younger than Pope Benedict was when he began his reign, and many Vatican observers had predicted a shift to someone younger.
The general secretary of the Australia Catholic Bishops Conference, Father Brian Lucas, had predicted all along that the new Pope would be someone around age 70.
But he says Pope Francis is still clearly a choice designed to bring change.
Father Lucas says the Pope brings with him a simplicity of lifestyle, along with a vast international experience working with the Jesuit order.
"People talk about the fact that he took the bus to work, which he won't ever get the opportunity to do anymore. But also, he didn't live -- as often is the case -- in the more elaborate episcopal residences, but lived in a simple apartment on his own. And he was able to relate to people and was known as a great advocate for social justice and a voice for the voiceless."
Father Lucas says he also believes there was an intentional message from the Church in selecting a Pope from South America.
"I think the fact that he comes from South America, he's well-established there, is an important sign, not only to the people of South America but to the Church generally, that the Church is a catholic Church, it's a universal Church. It's not a Church centred only in Europe."
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires to Italian migrants to Argentina.
Hence, he gives the Vatican an Italian-speaking Pope, while also letting the Church extend its reach across the Atlantic Ocean and into the Southern Hemisphere to pick him.
Besides the Spanish language of his homeland, the new Pope also speaks German.
Pope Francis was a chemical technician before entering the priesthood, then earned degrees in philosophy and taught literature and psychology.
Father Curtin says he believes the Church leaders were looking for a man of both his geographical and administrative background to head the 1.2-billion-strong Church.
"I think perhaps they did want to go outside Europe -- certainly, outside the Roman Curia -- and get someone who would have a fresh look at the governance of the Church in Rome. I think, also, the fact that he's been the bishop of a very large diocese in the Global South, in Buenos Aires, where there's this great divide between the very rich and the very poor. So he's got experience of a very big diocese and being the chief pastor of a diocese. And I think, perhaps, they were looking for someone who had that pastoral experience and that depth of experience, but also, running a diocese, he's clearly had some administrative experience."
The 266th Pope in the history of the Church is considered progressive on social issues but conservative in doctrine.
He takes the helm of a Church torn by sex-abuse scandals involving some of its priests and a hierarchy accused of ignoring the cries for help from victims.
