New pope elected as white smoke emerges from the Sistine Chapel

White smoke has just emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating that a new pope has been chosen.

The new pontiff has been selected on the second day of the conclave.

The signal was met with an eruption of cheers from the crowd that had gathered in anticipation in St Peter's Square. The crowd was said to be 'taken off guard' according to reporters on the ground as the white smoke was not expected until later this evening or even tomorrow morning.

What happens next?

Now that the 267th pope has been chosen, the short wait begins for the big reveal of the new pope's identity, which will happen on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

Now, the new pope will be dressed in papal garments before all 132 cardinals will come to the alter and pledge their allegiance to him. In 2013 with Pope Francis, it took just over one hour between the white smoke signal and the world announcement of his name.

A new pope requires a two-thirds majority in the voting and this conclave is thought to be one of the most diverse of any meeting of cardinals before, representing some 70 countries and hailing from places such as Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga which had not had a cardinal before.

Pope Francis had appointed some 108 of the 133 cardinals who chose his successor.

The next pope must be someone who can bring together disparate groups within the Catholic Church, an emeritus professor of Catholic theology at the University of Bristol said.

Professor Gavin D’Costa said: “This conclave is more universal in representative terms than any other in the history of the Church, even if it is also lacking in balance – having more European cardinals than any other single group, but with a dwindling Catholic population in Europe.

“The priority will be to select a pope who embodies the common good, who can unite disparate groups within Catholics, and provide a vision of the Church that can be conducive to peace, co-operation and justice in a broken world.”