VATICAN CITY, April 19 -- Joseph Ratzinger, a German-born cardinal and the Vatican's guardian of religious orthodoxy, was swiftly elected Tuesday by the College of Cardinals as the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He chose the name Pope Benedict XVI.
Late in the first full day of a conclave of 115 voting cardinals at the Sistine Chapel, shortly before 6 p.m., white smoke streamed from a chimney over the hallowed chapel. The crowd of 20,000 in St. Peter's Square cheered at the indication a pontiff had been chosen. Within minutes, bells pealed in confirmation, and about an hour later, Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez of Chile stood before the throng and heralded the news with the traditional Latin words "Habemus papam" -- "We have a pope."
The new pope then emerged on a balcony of the cream-colored marble facade of St. Peter's Basilica, wearing newly tailored white robes, a gold-embroidered burgundy stole, scarlet mantle and ivory-colored skullcap.
"Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in the Lord's vineyard," the new pontiff said, raising his arms to respond to the applause.
"The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all, I entrust myself to your prayers," he said, speaking German-accented Italian.
"Benedetto!" responded the crowd, the new pope's name in Italian, which also means blessed. "Viva il papa!" -- " Long live the pope!"
Ratzinger, who was born in the Bavarian mountain town of Marktl am Inn, celebrated his 78th birthday on Saturday. No one older has been elected pope since the 18th century. His election defied the opinion of some that the cardinals would choose a low-key, conciliatory churchman to follow Pope John Paul II, whose vigorous travels in a 26-year reign made the papacy a global attraction.
"We were looking for a successor of John Paul II," Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia said late Tuesday, meeting with reporters at the North American College in Rome. "All of us were talking about the incredible qualities of John Paul II, knowing the world is calling him 'the Great.' " Rigali said cardinals were swayed by their desire to find someone most like John Paul.
Also at the session was Cardinal Edward Egan of New York, who said the new pope "obviously" had support from the Third World. There has been concern because Ratzinger opposed liberation theology, in which sometimes radical members of the church have worked on behalf of the poor.
Speaking to reporters in Vatican City, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, the archbishop of Cologne, Germany, said cardinals broke out in applause when they realized Ratzinger had passed the threshold of a two-thirds majority.
"It was done without an electoral battle, and without propaganda," he said, adding that he began crying when the decision was made. "For me, it was a miracle."
Until the eve of the conclave, Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, issued strong critiques of what he viewed as wayward thinking. He spoke out forcefully about the value of absolute beliefs, indicating continued rejection of dissent from key Catholic teachings, including the bans on contraception and the ordination of women. He stood behind continued Vatican control of key decision-making. Ratzinger had been among John Paul's closest allies and served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the Vatican's most important posts.
At the first reports of smoke from the chapel, schoolchildren, office workers, tourists, nuns and seminarians raced to St. Peter's Square on foot, by bus and in taxis.
It appeared at first to be gray smoke. In a variety of tongues, people called out, "Is it black?" -- which would mean no pope had been chosen yet. But slowly they realized the smoke was billowing white.
Within the hour, there were expressions of joy as the new pope stepped forward and waved. Armina Contreras, 20, a student from Fullerton, Calif., took a break to give her friends the news by cell phone.
"I'm really excited to see this, being a part of a once-in-a-lifetime event. I feel grateful that I'm living here now," she said. "I'm not Catholic, but when they were saying, 'Amen,' I was overwhelmed."
Nearby, Anna Vicenzia, a homemaker from Florence, said she came to Rome on a hunch. "I feel great, so emotional," she said tearfully as the bells rang. "I just had faith that it would be today."
There were some unsmiling faces in the crowd. "I'm scared he'll continue the hyperconservative policies of the last pope," said Sophie George of San Francisco, who works as a tour guide in Rome. "Look at what's happening with AIDS in developing countries. . . . The church is not entering the 21st century."
Susanna Zanelli, 30, of Rome, said: "I'm worried. He's German. He's cold."
Benedict's first appearance before the crowd differed sharply from John Paul's debut 26 years ago as the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. John Paul, 58 at the time and standing ramrod straight, joked with the crowd, told them he would address them in "our language," meaning Italian, and asked them to correct him if he made mistakes. "Do not be afraid," he urged.
There was no such banter or heady exhortation from Benedict, whose hair is white and whose gait is slow.
After withdrawing inside the basilica, the pope prepared to dine with the cardinals at Domus Sanctae Marthae, or St. Martha's House, their residence during the short conclave. After spending the night there, he was to preside at a Mass at the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday. The Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said Benedict's formal investiture would take place Sunday.
The new pope had emerged last year as a papal candidate to be reckoned with. He used his Vatican platform to address broad opinions to large audiences. His age had been thought by some analysts to be a hindrance -- he would be a pope whose predecessor had been chronically ill with Parkinson's disease and other ailments for the past few years.
He wrote a letter of advice to U.S. bishops on denying Holy Communion to politicians who favor abortion rights. He said that the decision was up to the bishops but that they should meet with, teach and warn the politicians ahead of time.
In an interview with a French publication, he cautioned against admitting Turkey, a mostly Muslim country, to the European Union because the continent is predominantly Christian. He also wrote a letter to bishops worldwide decrying a sort of feminism that makes women "adversaries" of men.
He has likened cloning of human cells to "weapons of mass destruction" and once called homosexuality a tendency toward "intrinsic moral evil." Three years ago, when the clergy sex abuse scandal erupted in the United States, he said a media conspiracy was to blame.
"I am personally convinced," he told reporters in Murcia, Spain, in 2002, "that the constant presence in the press of the sins of Catholic priests, especially in the U.S., is a planned campaign." The cardinal's Vatican office was in charge of reviewing cases of priests charged with sex abuse.
On Monday, in what was essentially a keynote address for the conclave, he delivered his last homily as a cardinal, attacking "the dictatorship of relativism," which he said denies absolute truth. He took a shot at critics who regard views like his own as radical. "To have a clear faith according to the church's creed is today often labeled fundamentalism," he said.
As cardinal, Ratzinger had focused lately on Europe, decrying what Vatican officials term "Christianophobia," the rejection of the continent's heritage.
In selecting Benedict as his papal title, he might be identifying Benedict XV, who served from 1914 to 1922, as his model, according to some Italian commentators. Benedict XV was considered a milder alternative to his stern predecessor, Pius X, who punished those in the church who supported modern views.
But Ratzinger gave a hint of his more likely inspiration when, on April 1, he visited Subiaco, Italy, the home town of Saint Benedict. The order of monks founded by Benedict spread Christianity in Europe. The European church now experiences empty pews, a public preoccupation of the new pontiff. At a meeting in Subiaco, he said Europe "constitutes the most radical contradiction, not only of Christianity but also of religious and moral traditions of all humanity."
The Vatican has opposed laws allowing gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia in several European countries.
Meisner, the Cologne archbishop, said the new pope was elected on the fourth ballot, according to the Associated Press. In 1978, John Paul II was elected after eight ballots, and it took four votes to pick John Paul I, who died after 34 days in office. In 1963, Paul VI was elected on the sixth ballot, and it took 11 ballots in 1958 to elect John XXIII.
Benedict XVI is said to be the first Germanic pope in about 1,000 years.
Throughout Tuesday, supporters of various candidates milled about St. Peter's Square. One hopeful group held up a humorous sign for Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the retired archbishop of Milan. "No Martini, No Party," the banner said, in reference to a vermouth ad that ran in Italy a few years ago.
Under a blue-and-white Honduran flag, some people who said they were restaurant workers cheered for Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga. Brazilians wearing the green and yellow national colors shouted for Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the archbishop of Sao Paulo.
When the new pope was named, a few Italian youths clutching rosaries and identifying themselves as "papaboys" jumped for joy. Navarro-Valls said it was "obvious" that Benedict would make a trip to Cologne this summer for the latest in a series of youth day rallies instituted by John Paul.
Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church elected Germany's Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope.