A wildly cheering crowd of more than 100,000 welcomed Benedict when he stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica as dusk fell and he gave his first blessing as pope, after Chilean Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez spoke the Latin words the world had been waiting for,- "We have a pope" - and announced the papal name Ratzinger had taken.
Pilgrims on St. Peter's Square shouted "Benedetto!" and "Viva il Papa," waved national flags, hugged their neighbors and jumped in joy. Many shed tears of bliss; some wept in disappointment.
The new Pope has been chosen from what could be termed the traditional side of the Catholic Church. To some, he heralds intellectual salvation during a time of confusion and compromise. To others, his record as Pope John Paul II's prefect of doctrine showed the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to be an intimidating "Enforcer", punishing liberal thinkers, and keeping the Church in the Middle Ages.

POPE BENEDICT XVI
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, the newly elected Pope, has chosen the name Benedict XVI, and is the 265th Pontiff. He is the 1st German Pope in centuries and had served John Paul II since 1981 as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith formerly known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition - since 1981. White smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel and bells tolled to announce that conclave had produced a Pope. It was one of the fastest elections in the past century: Pope Pius XII was elected in 1939 in three ballots in one day, while Pope John Paul I was elected in 1978 in four ballots in one day. The new Pope was elected after either four or five ballots over two days.
The eighth German to become Pope, 78 years old Cardinal Ratzinger speaks 10 languages and is an accomplished pianist with a preference for Beethoven. He is charming, quick-witted and a convincing orator. He was the clear favourite to fill the vacancy left by John Paul II's death. As one of the most influential men in the Vatican, he presided over the Pope's funeral earlier this month and was said to be among the pontiff's closest friends.
One of his first campaigns was against liberation theology, which had gained ground among priests in Latin America and elsewhere as a means of involving the Church in social activism and human rights issues. He has described homosexuality as a "tendency" towards an "intrinsic moral evil".
Cardinal Ratzinger was born into a traditional Bavarian farming family in 1927. His father was a policeman. At the age of 14, he joined the Hitler Youth, as was required of young Germans of the time, but was not an enthusiastic member. His studies at Traunstein seminary were interrupted during World War II when he was drafted into an anti-aircraft unit in Munich. He deserted the German army towards the end of the war and was briefly held as a prisoner of war by the Allies in 1945.
His supporters say his experiences under the Nazi regime convinced him that the Church had to stand up for truth and freedom.
In 1966 he took a chair in dogmatic theology at the University of Tuebingen but later moved to Regensburg University in his native Bavaria in 1969, eventually rising to become its dean and vice-president. He was named Cardinal of Munich by Pope Paul VI in 1977.

• The Pope is St. Peter's successor, and the bishops are successors of the apostles.
• Of the 264 popes, 205 were Italians, (of whom 106 were Romans), and 57 foreigners; comprised of 19 Frenchmen, 14 Greeks, 8 Syrians, 5
• Germans, 3 Africans, 2 Spaniards, 1 Austrian, 1 Palestinian, 1 Englishman, 1 Dutchman, and 1 Pole.
• The oldest Pope was Adrian I (772 AD), elected at 80 years of age and the youngest was Benedict IX (1032 AD) at 12 years of age though it is now widely believed that he was closer to 20 years old when he assumed the papacy.
• The longest Length of Pontificate was Pius IX (1846/1878 AD) - 32 years. The shortest was Stephen II (752 AD) - one day.
• The various titles that the Pope holds are Bishop of Rome; Vicar of Jesus Christ; Successor to the Prince of the Apostles; Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church; Patriarch of the West; Primate of Italy; Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Province of Rome; Sovereign of the Vatican City; and Servant of the Servants of God.
• The pope's car is called the Popemobile. There are at least 20 Popemobiles scattered around the world. The Vatican garage houses six of the four-ton vehicles. Land Rover made the first armored Popemobile in 1982, after the assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II. They have since been made by Fiat, Renault, Peugeot, GM, Toyota and Mercedes Benz. The pope mobile's license plate number is: SCV 1. SCV in Italian stands for: Stato della Citta del Vaticano ( Vatican City State ).
• An anti-pope is someone who lays false claim to the papacy. In many cases, they would assume papal duties in defiance of the true Pope. Felix V (1440-1449) was the last antipope.