Local Bishop to Speak About New Pope

White smoke appeared at the Sistine Chapel chimney about 2 p.m. EDT indicating that a pope has been elected and has accepted the position.

Argentine Jorge Bergoglio has been elected pope, the first ever from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. He chose the name Pope Francis.

Bishop Luis R. Zarama of the Archdiocese of Atlanta will hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. today in Smyrna to comment on the new pope.

According to Catholic tradition, the newly appointed Bishop of Rome is the 266th successor of St. Peter and leader of the worldwide Catholic Church consisting of 1.2 billion Catholics.

The white smoke appeared at 7:05 p.m. CET (2:05 p.m. EDT / 11:05 a.m. PDT) time after five rounds of voting. In 2005, Benedict XVI was elected on the second day after four rounds of voting.

The Catholic Church's 115 cardinal electors voted in this papal election, and the newly appointed pontiff has received at least 77 votes.

With the next hour or so, the big bell of St. Peter's Basilica is supposed to ring confirming the election. In 2005, there were approximately 40 minutes between the smoke signal and the ringing of the bell.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, former president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, will appear on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to shout "Habemus Papam!" ("We have a pope!). He'll present the new pope, who will be in white papal cassocks (three sizes are kept on reserve) and give his first blessing as pope.

This is a developing story. Stayed tuned for more.