Images: Ratzinger becomes Pope Benedict XVI
Choosing the name Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected pope on April 19, 2005.
On the first conclave of the new millennium, white smoke billows from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel.
On the first conclave of the new millennium, white smoke billows from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel.
Soon after, Vatican bells start ringing, a sign that a new pope has been selected.
When the bells start to ring, the crowds start to cheer. They were overjoyed a new pontiff had been chosen.
Less than an hour after the bells started ringing, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany emerges onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.
Elected the church's new pope, Ratzinger chose the name Benedict XVI.
Ratzinger is the first German pope since the 11th century.
Ratzinger called himself a "simple, humble worker."
"I entrust myself to your prayers," he added.
The crowd responded by chanting "Benedict! Benedict!"
Ratzinger was the powerful dean of the College of Cardinals, serving Pope John Paul II since 1981.
When his remarks were over, Ratzinger went back inside, concluding one of the fastest papal conclaves of the past century.
