A conclave was convened on 12 March 2013 to elect a pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who had resigned on 28 February. 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered. On the fifth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He took the pontifical name Francis.
2013 papal conclave
Pope Francis appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica following his election, 13 March 2013.
A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church.
The 1492 papal conclave was the first to be held in the Sistine Chapel, the site of all conclaves since 1878.
Since the conclave of 2005, the cardinals electors reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae for the length of the conclave.
The camerlengo proclaiming a papal death
Cardinals, bishops and priests attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II