White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel on March 13, 2013, signaling that a new pope has been chosen.
Billions of Catholics around the world are now wondering who the new Holy father is.
UPDATE: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina is the new pope. He will be known as Pope Francis.
Bells rang out across Rome on Wednesday afternoon, a signal that a new pope was voted in by the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church.
His name will be revealed within an hour of the white smoke appearing, which happened at approximately 2 p.m. ET.
Prior to his appearance on the balcony at St. Peter's Basilica, those gathered in St. Peter's Square will hear this announcement: "Habemus Papam!" This translates to "We have a pope!"
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Electing a pope is a a secretive process. Cardinals swore an oath of secrecy when the conclave got under way. There is the threat of ex-communication for anyone who breaks the code of secrecy.
How does the smoke turn from black to white? NBC reports that a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulphur were added to create the black smoke.
A mixture of potassium chlorate, lactose and pine resin were added to make the white smoke rise from the Sistine Chapel.
This post will be updated when the name of the new pope is revealed.
