New leader of Catholic Church chosen as white smoke pours from Sistine Chapel chimney - A record 133 cardinals from 70 countries are involved in the secret ballot to elect a new pope

White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, signalling that cardinals locked inside have elected a new leader for the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Thousands of pilgrims and curious onlookers in St Peter'

Bells rang out in St Peter’s Square and thousands of pilgrims, tourists and curious Romans looked on as the fabled white smoke streamed into the sky, indicating that the 133 sequestered cardinals have voted by a two-thirds majority for a new clergyman to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.