A blindfolded child's weighty task: Picking new pope

[NewsCaster]

Mohammed Abu Zeid / APYoung boys wait anxiously to hear which one of them will be selected to choose the new pope of Egypt's ancient Coptic Christian church, in Cairo on Nov. 3, 2012.Nasser Nasser / APA blindfolded boy draws the name of the next pope from a crystal chalice next to acting Coptic Pope Pachomios, center, during the papal election ceremony at the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo on Nov. 4, 2012. The Associated Press reports from Cairo — A blindfolded child reached into a crystal  chalice and pulled out a slip of paper — and Egypt's Coptic Christians had a new  pope.

The colorful but solemn ceremony at the  Cairo cathedral of the troubled minority reflected none of the tensions outside.  It was the end of a complicated process that began when the church's charismatic  leader for four decades, Pope Shenouda III, died in March at the age of 88.Roger Anis / APEgyptian Copts crowded into the cathedral for the papal election ceremony on Nov. 4, 2012.

NBCNews