New Pope elected in the Vatican City

 Vatican, 14 March – After five secret ballots, the Conclave of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel voted Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio the new Pontiff of the Catholic Church.  Pope Francis, as he is to be known, is the first non European Pope in 1000 years.

A crowd of over 150,000 in St Peter’s Square cheered as white smoke billowed from the most widely watched chimney in the world.

As our Vita Italian Tour season is about to begin we are happy that the cardinals are now finished with the Sistine Chapel so that our groups will get a chance to experience Michelangelo’s frescoes when we visit Rome.