UPDATE: The new Pope has been named as Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
He is the first ever Latin American Pope and the 76-year-old will be called Francis I.
"Dear brothers and sisters, good evening..." were his first words as he appeared on the Vatican balcony in front of thousands of people.
Pope Francis went on to say the world should set off on a path of love and fraternity.
A NEW Pope to head up the Catholic Church has been elected.
Billowing white smoke from the Sistine Chapel announced to the world that the Cardinals had made their decision.
Crowds, gathered in St Peter's Square, cheered as bells rang out, heralding the news.
The new Pope will replace Pope Benedict XVI, who stepped down last month saying he was no longer strong enough to lead the Church.
The 115 cardinals have been in isolation since Tuesday afternoon, and held four inconclusive votes before electing a Pope.
At least 77 of them, or two-thirds, would have had to have voted for a single candidate for him to be elected Pope.
There was no clear front-runner when the process began.
