LIVE: New pope elected in Vatican City

The conclave has elected a new pope after two days of tense deliberations locked away in the Vatican. White smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel on Thursday evening, confirming that a new pope has been chosen to lead the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church. The 267th pontiff has succeeded Pope Francis to become the religious leader of Catholics across the globe after an election that only took around 24 hours. Shortly after 5pm UK time, crowds in St Peter's Square erupted into cheers and applause as white smoke billowed into the air from a specially-erected chimney at the chapel. Each of the electing cardinals, dressed in distinctive bright red vestments, had taken an oath pledging secrecy ahead of the conclave, a process of casting anonymous ballots for their chosen name, which began on Wednesday. Continue reading at express.co.uk: Read Daily Express: https://www.express.co.uk Like Daily Express on Facebook:   / dailyexpress   Follow Daily Express on Twitter:   / daily_express   Follow Daily Express on Instagram:   / dailyexpress   #DailyExpress #News #pope #conclave2025 #conclave