Italian bishops were quick to congratulate the new pope.
Too quick - they got the wrong man.
The
Italian Bishops' Conference on Wednesday sent a congratulatory email to
one of their own, Milan Cardinal Scola - tipped as a hot conclave
favourite.
They had to quickly correct themselves and issue a new message to the real winner, Argentine Jorge Bergoglio.
Conventional wisdom had it that a quick result - and this conclave
was quick, with the white smoke coming on just the second day - could
only mean consensus had built around a top name.
Churches in Milan also seem to have got it wrong: they sent bells
pealing shortly before the announcement "Habemus Papam!" - "We have a
pope!"