YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. The conclave in Vatican has chosen the new 266th Pope of Rome. Argentina's Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected as Pope. He took the name Francis I. A number of believers gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

As reports "Armenpress" citing Ria-Novosti, white puffs of smoke were seen over the chimney installed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel. Argentina's 76 year old Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was not among the front-runners, is now the Pope of the Catholic Church. His chosen name is Pope Francis. Prior to his election, he served as an Argentine cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires since 1998. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001. Jorge Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, one of the five children of an Italian railway worker and his wife. He received a master's degree in chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires, then studied at the seminary in Villa Devoto. He entered the Society of Jesus on 11 March 1958. Bergoglio obtained a licentiate in philosophy from the Colegio Máximo San José in San Miguel, and then taught literature and psychology at the Colegio de la Inmaculada in Santa Fe, and the Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires. He was ordained to the priesthood on 13 December 1969, by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. He attended the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel, a seminary in San Miguel. Bergoglio attained the position of novice master there and became professor of theology.

Impressed with his leadership skills, the Society of Jesus promoted Bergoglio and he served as provincial for Argentina from 1973 to 1979. He was transferred in 1980 to become the rector of the seminary in San Miguel where he had studied. He served in that capacity until 1986. He completed his doctoral dissertation in Germany and returned to his homeland to serve as confessor and spiritual director in Córdoba. Bergoglio succeeded Cardinal Quarracino on 28 February 1998. He was concurrently named ordinary for Eastern Catholics in Argentina, who lacked their own prelate. Pope John Paul II summoned the newly named archbishop to the consistory of 21 February 2001 in Vatican City and elevated Bergoglio with the papal honors of a cardinal. He was named to the Cardinal-Priest of Saint Robert Bellarmino.

The conclave launched on March 12, when the heavy wooden doors to the Sistine Chapel swung closed. Earlier, the cardinals celebrated a special morning Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, where they prayed for guidance in making a choice that could be crucial to the future direction of a church rocked by scandal in recent years. Members of the public waited in long lines Tuesday morning to join the Mass, which was open to all. Applause echoed around St. Peter's as Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, offered thanks for the "brilliant pontificate" of Benedict XVI, whose unexpected resignation precipitated the selection of a new pope.  

Pope of Rome Benedict XVI resigned on February 28, 2013. Last case of resignation in the history of papacy has been recorded in 1415. That was Gregory XII, who resigned in 1415. The 85-year-old became Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005 following the death of John Paul II.

Benedict XVI was born in 16 April 1927. He is the 265th Pope, a position in which he served dual roles as Sovereign of the Vatican City State and leader of the Catholic Church. As Pope, he was regarded as the successor of Saint Peter the Apostle. Benedict XVI was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship.