• Exuberant nuns celebrate at the Vatican as new pope is elected

    Emilio Morenatti / AP

    A nun reacts after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.

    Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

    A nun reacts as newly elected Pope Francis appears on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.

    Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

    Nuns react after Argentina's Jorge Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis on March 13, 2013 at St Peter's square at the Vatican.

    Guido Montana / EPA

    Nuns show their emotions as they hear the news that a new pope has been elected as they join pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square, on March 13, 2013.

    Emilio Morenatti / AP

    People react after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.

    Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

    People talk in St Peter's Square after newly elected Pope Francis I appeared on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.

    Spencer Platt / Getty Images

    People stand in St. Peter's Square as they listen to newly elected pope, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, who will take the name Pope Francis, on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.

    Ghazi Balkiz / NBC News

    A nun smiles and claps her hands at St. Peter's Square outside the Vatican in Rome as Pope Frances addresses the crowd for the first time, on March 13, 2013.

    Becky Bratu, Staff Writer, NBC News writes:
    As the last puffs of white smoke dissipated at the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, women religious in the United States received the news of the pope's election with a mix of surprise and hope that he would shepherd the church through its current crisis.

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    Emilio Morenatti / AP

    A nun reacts after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.

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  • Baz Ratner / Reuters

    Orthodox nuns and worshippers hold candles as they walk along the Via Dolorosa during a procession in Jerusalem's Old City early morning August 25, 2010. More than a thousand worshippers took part in the annual procession in which an icon of the Virgin Mary is carried from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City to a church at the foot of the Mount of Olives believed by Christians to mark the tomb of the Virgin Mary.

    Yossi Zamir / EPA

    Greek Orthodox Christians walk through Jerusalem's Old City at dawn during a candlelight procession commemorating the death of Jesus' mother, Mary, in Jerusalem, August 25, 2010.

    Sebastian Scheiner / AP

    Orthodox nuns hold candles and flowers as they take part in a procession to bring the icon of the Virgin Mary to the tomb where it is believed she is buried, through Jerusalem's Old City on Aug. 25, 2010. Every year before the Feast of the Assumption, the icon is brought from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to the tomb of the Virgin Mary to honor her Assumption.

    Gali Tibbon / AFP - Getty Images

    Christian Orthodox nuns hold candles and flowers as they walk along the narrow streets of Jerusalem's Old City during a procession marking The Dormition of the Theotokos (God-bearer) which commemorates the Virgin Mary on August 25, 2010.

    Procession in Jerusalem

    Pretty pictures coming out of this religious procession in Jerusalem today. Looks like there were photograhers there from all the major wire services. Which one do you like best?