A new pope has been elected after white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in Rome this evening.

The 133 Cardinal electors gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have elected the new Pope.

He will appear soon at the central window of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, a 73-year-old Frenchman born in Morocco, is expected to make the announcement, unless he himself is elected pope.

The 133 cardinals, who voted for the successor to late Pope Francis were shut in for the secretive conclave on Wednesday evening.

The first black smoke arrived some three hours and 15 minutes after the cardinals closed their doors, greeted with some disappointment by the crowds at the Vatican.

Earlier this morning, another smoke was let out, meaning none of the candidates had secured the minimum two-thirds majority, 89 votes, before a breakthrough this evening.