MUNICH, Germany - Germans rejoiced at the selection of cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the 265th pope of the Roman Catholic church Tuesday, with spontaneous celebrations erupting in his home region of Bavaria.
Bells tolled across Berlin and Munich, Germany's third largest city, as in many other European cities, after the Vatican announced that Ratzinger had been elected to succeed John Paul II, taking the name of Pope Benedict XVI.
A mass was to be celebrated later Tuesday in the Frauenkirche cathedral in the Bavarian state capital of Munich to celebrate the election of the new pontiff, who was born in Bavaria 78 years ago.
People in Ratzinger's small hometown of Marktl am Inn were jubilant after the announcement was made.
Firemen on a truck asked Marktl's population of 2,700 to rally in the main market square late Tuesday for a celebration of the election of the new pope.
The mayor of the town, Hubert Gschwendter, said he was delighted.
"I feel unbelievable joy," said the mayor, who had not expected Ratzinger to be chosen.
"I was expecting a candidate from Latin America."
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Pope Benedict XVI would be "a worthy successor" to the late John Paul II.
"This is a great honour for Germany," Schroeder said.
"I think he will be a worthy successor to Pope John Paul II. I congratulate him on behalf of the government and all Germans."
In the German capital, people in the streets were divided over Ratzinger's election.
Bernd Jaspers, 52, a Catholic, said he was "enormously happy" about the election of Ratzinger.
"OK, he is a conservative, but he also emanates calm, and that's what the Catholic church needs," Jaspers said.
"I hope he lives a long and healthy life."
But Hans Piltz, a worshipping Catholic, said at a church in the capital that it was "a black day for the Catholic church" because he said Ratzinger would do little to bring together Protestants and Catholics.
04/19/2005 18:39 GMT