Habemus papam

The format for the announcement when a cardinal is elected pope is:[a][2] Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; habemus Papam:

In the Habemus papam announcement given by Jorge Cardinal Medina on April 19, 2005, upon the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the announcement was preceded by an identical greeting in several languages, respectively, Italian, Spanish, French, German and English:[3][4] Fratelli e sorelle carissimi, Queridísimos hermanos y hermanas, Bien chers frères et sœurs, Liebe Brüder und Schwestern, Dear brothers and sisters.

The text of the announcement is partly inspired by the Gospel of Luke (2:10–11), which records the words of the angel announcing to the shepherds the birth of the Messiah: "Fear not; for, behold, I bring thee good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: For unto thee is born, this day, in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

[5] The adoption of the Habemus papam formula took place prior to 1484, the year in which it was used to announce the election of Giovanni Battista Cybo, who took the name of Innocent VIII.

According to certain Latin grammarians though, like Nicola Flocchini, Piera Guidotti Bacci and the Maiorum Lingua Manual, the accusative is the more correct form.

In John Paul I's election, the numeral primi (the first) was used (Pericle Cardinal Felici announced the papal name as Ioannis Pauli primi)[11] but in Pope Francis' election, no numeral was uttered (Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran simply gave the papal name as Franciscum).