'Church is very blessed with this election' of Pope Francis

British politicians and religious leaders have welcomed the election of Jorge Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as the new Pope.

The Catholic Church in England and Wales issued a statement on behalf of Archbishop Nichols welcoming the election of Pope Francis, in which he expressed his "great joy".

His predecessor, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, said the Church had been "very blessed" by the election.