A nun stands in prayer in St. Peter's Square as the College of Cardinals hold a pre-conclave mass inside the basilica as they prepare to vote to choose Pope Benedict XVI’s successor. While the world waits, pilgrims gather outside to watch the mass on several big screens on March 12, 2013.
Emma Connaughton, 20, and Joshua Walden, 21, both of Northampton, England embrace in St. Peter's Square.
A man holds a rosary as he prays in St. Peter's Square.
A nun stands in prayer in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican as Cardinals hold a pre-conclave mass inside, preparing to vote to choose Pope Benedict XVI’s successor.
As the College of Cardinals continue their general congregations at the Vatican in preparation for the conclave that will elect the next pontiff, people visit St. Peter's Square in Vatican City on March 6, 2013.
People stand in St. Peter's Square shortly after the chimney that will signal to the world the election of a new pope is installed on the top of the Sistine Chapel. As the chimney was raised, applause and cheers filled the square as many gathered, anxiously awaiting the upcoming conclave.
A guard stands watch in one of the entrances to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican as the College of Cardinals gather to begin their conclave to choose Pope Benedict XVI’s successor.
A man walks through St Peter's Square at the Vatican on the eve of the start of the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI on March 11, 2013.
Canadian Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins is surrounded by police and security as he walks through St Peter's Square at the Vatican, after the Cardinals' final general congregation meeting on the eve of the start of the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI on March 11, 2013. Cardinal Collins was rumored to be a likely candidate for pontiff.
A couple holds each other in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican as the College of Cardinals hold a pre-conclave mass inside the basilica in their preparation to vote for Pope Benedict XVI’s successor.
A pilgrim kneels in the rain in St. Peter's Square as the College of Cardinal's hold mass at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The mass led of the first day of the conclave to choose Pope Benedict XVI’s successor.
Nuns stand in St. Peter's Square huddled beneath umbrellas as they joins thousands of other to keep watch on the chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel on March 13, 2013, waiting for the Cardinals to choose Pope Benedict XVI’s successor.
St. Peter's Square fills with people waiting, watching the small chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel for smoke to signal the results of the votes by the College of Cardinals on March 13, 2013.
With the College of Cardinals filling the balconies of St. Peter's Basilica, and thousands of pilgrims below, spilling into the streets from St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis addresses the crowd for the first time as he becomes the 266th pontiff in the Catholic church's 2,000 year history.
People react after white smoke billows from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel and its bells ring out across the square, signaling that the College of Cardinals have elected a new pope.