Washington (CNN) Rep. Paul Ryan was officially elected as the 54th speaker of the House after he got the votes of 236 members by the full House of Representatives.

The vote was largely a formality after House Republicans nominated him for the position on Wednesday.

But even some conservatives who did not support Ryan said that after weeks of infighting, they were eager to move on and give Ryan the space to unite the party's various factions and craft a legislative agenda.

After losing 43 votes in the House GOP internal election a day earlier, only nine House Republicans voted against Ryan on the House floor.

Boehner gave a farewell address before the vote on Thursday, a day after the House approved a significant budget deal he negotiated with President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats. The legislation, which eliminates the possibility of a default and decreases the chance of a government shutdown, effectively gives Ryan a fresh start.

After he was sworn in as Speaker, Ryan praised Boehner, calling him "a true class act" and urged members from both sides to come together.

Ryan attempted to get members to turn the page saying "a lot is on our shoulders. So if you ever pray, pray for each other -- Republicans for Democrats, Democrats for Republicans."

After a standing ovation Ryan joked, "And I don't mean pray for a conversion."

He becomes the third Catholic in a row in the position, after Boehner and Nancy Pelosi, now the Minority Leader. He took the oath on his own copy of the New American bible and kept the gavel he wielded as Chairman of the powerful tax writing committee.

Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Rep. Paul Ryan, R.-Wisconsin, was elected the 54th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, October 29, after receiving the votes of 236 members. The vote was largely a formality after House Republicans nominated him for the position on Wednesday, October 28. Hide Caption 1 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan announced Monday, January 12, that he would not run for president in 2016, preferring instead to focus on policy work as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Ryan, the GOP's 2012 vice presidential nominee, has long been seen as a top contender for the presidency. Hide Caption 2 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan, center, speaks with Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, before a House Ways and Means Committee meeting on March 12, 2014. Hide Caption 3 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan and his wife, Janna, arrive at a state dinner at the White House in honor of French President Francois Hollande on February 11, 2014 . Hide Caption 4 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Willie Robertson of the reality TV series "Duck Dynasty" poses for a picture with Ryan and his wife, Janna, before President Obama delivers his State of the Union address on January 28, 2014. Hide Caption 5 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on March 15, 2013. Hide Caption 6 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan greets supporters during a presidential campaign rally with Mitt Romney at The Square at Union Centre in West Chester, Ohio, on November 2, 2012. Hide Caption 7 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin speaks during a campagin stop at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines on August 13, 2012. It was the newly minted GOP vice presidential candidate's first solo stop since becoming Romney's running mate. Hide Caption 8 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan speaks after Romney announced him as his running mate in Norfolk, Virginia, on August 11, 2012. Hide Caption 9 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Romney introduced Ryan as his running mate in front of the USS Wisconsin. The seven-term congressman provides a strong contrast to the Obama administration on fiscal policy. Hide Caption 10 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Romney jokes with Ryan in April 2012 during a pancake brunch at Bluemound Gardens in Milwaukee. Hide Caption 11 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan looks on as Romney greets people June 18, 2012, during a campaign event in Janesville, Wisconsin. Hide Caption 12 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan speaks while campaigning for Romney at a textile factory in Janesville, Wisconsin, on June 18, 2012. Hide Caption 13 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan, left, and Romney greet each other on stage April 3, 2012, during the primary night gathering at The Grain Exchange in Milwaukee. Hide Caption 14 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan introduces Romney at a town hall meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 2, 2012. Hide Caption 15 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan is introduced before speaking about the federal budget at Georgetown University on April 26, 2012. Hide Caption 16 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan holds a news conference in December 2011 in Washington to introduce a package of 10 legislative reforms designed to revamp the budget process. Hide Caption 17 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan listens as Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget annual conference in Washington on June 14, 2011. Hide Caption 18 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan looks over papers as he waits for other House Republicans to arrive for a news conference in the Capitol Visitors Center in 2010. Hide Caption 19 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan speaks to the media in 2009 about President Barack Obama's 2010 budget proposal. Hide Caption 20 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan, left, and Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire speak to reporters about the 2010 federal budget. Hide Caption 21 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Then-Budget Committee Chairman John M. Spratt Jr., left, and ranking member Ryan listen to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testify during the House Budget hearing on the economy on January 17, 2008. Hide Caption 22 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan follows President George W. Bush off of Air Force One at General Mitchell International Airport - Air Reserve Station in Milwaukee on July 11, 2006. Hide Caption 23 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Ryan speaks at a Cato Institute briefing on Medicare reform in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington on July 22, 2003. Hide Caption 24 of 25 Photos: Paul Ryan, rising GOP star Speaker of the House Denis Hastert, left, administers the oath of office to Ryan at the beginning of his first term as representative of Wisconsin on January 6, 1999. Hide Caption 25 of 25

The 45-year-old Wisconsin Republican first worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide in 1992 and won his House seat in 1998 when he was 28.

Before officially handing him the gavel, Pelosi congratulated him and noted his path to the speakership went from serving as a young aide, and "a Tortilla Coast waiter," a restaurant just steps from the Capitol he will now preside over.

During his tenure in the House, Ryan became known as a policy wonk and attracted national attention for his sweeping proposals to overhaul Medicare and restructure the tax code. In 2012, Mitt Romney picked Ryan to be his running mate on the GOP ticket. After Republicans lost that election, he returned to the House and ruled out running for president in 2016, instead settling into what he called his "dream job" as chairman of the House tax writing committee.

Romney and his wife Ann were watching with Ryan's family inside the House chamber as he took the oath of office.

With the speaker's title, Ryan takes on a national profile and the difficult challenge of corralling what has been an unruly and divided House GOP conference.

In his first speech he said the constant drama wasn't what the American people wanted and tried to move past it.

"We are not solving problems. We are adding to them. And I am not interested in laying blame. We are not settling scores. We are wiping the slate clean," Ryan said.

As he has been doing in the days leading up to Thursday's election, Ryan stressed he wanted members to have a greater imprint on legislation, and that he would empower committees and members with expertise to write bills instead of drafting them out of the Speaker's office.

"We will not always agree -- not all of us, not all of the time. But we should not hide our disagreements. We should embrace them. We have nothing to fear from honest differences honestly stated. If you have ideas, let's hear them."

After Ryan delivered his maiden speech as Speaker he walked down to shake hands with his colleagues, even with one who voted against him, still holding the Bible he placed his hand on to take the oath of office.