Argentina’s Bergoglio elected as new Pope Francis

– Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the 266th pope, making him the leader of the 1.2 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church. Francis was elected on Wednesday on the second day of the conclave in Vatican City, after receiving the required two-thirds majority, or at least 77 votes of the 115 cardinal electors from 48 countries.

ROME – Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the 266th pontiff of the Roman Ctaholic church succeeding Pope Benedict, who resigned last month.

Pope Francis appeared on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica just over an hour after white smoke poured from

a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel to signal his election.

“Pray for me,” the new pontiff, dressed in the white robes of a pope for the first time, urged the crowd.

The news of announcement was met with cheers from hundreds of thousands of crowd gathered under the rain at St Peter’s Square in Rome.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the protodeacon, made the announcement with the Latin words, Habemus papam, meaning “We have a pope”.

The 115 voting members of the College of Cardinals elected the 76 year old pope Wednesday afternoon on the second day of their secret conclave in the Vatican. The new pope has chosen the name Francis.

The candidate had to receive two-thirds of the vote, or 77 ballots, to be chosen to lead the Church. 

Thousands gathered in the Vatcan’s Saint Peter’s Square to witness the historical announcement.

White smoke emerged from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel and bells pealed in Vatican City Wednesday evening, signaling that a new pope had been chosen to lead the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

The cardinals, all of them under the age of 80, took an initial vote Tuesday. As expected, the first vote did not produce a decision but may have produced a slate of frontrunners. A vote Wednesday morning also was inconclusive.

The 115 scarlet-robed “princes of the church” swore an oath of secrecy requiring, under pain of excommunication, that they would reveal nothing of their deliberations for the duration of the secret conclave. 

Messages of goodwill have poured in from around the world. The Pope’s inaugural Mass will be next Tuesday.

Francis has telephoned Benedict and is planning to meet him, a Vatican spokesman said.

The new Pope takes the helm at a difficult time for the Catholic Church, facing an array of challenges which include the role of women, interfaith tensions and dwindling congregations in some parts of the world.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who became the 266th Roman Catholic pontiff Wednesday, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936.

He was a son of Italian immigrants and his father was a railroad worker.

The new leader of 1.2 billion Catholics chose to be known as Pope Francis. He is the first Latin American leader of the Church.

Latin America is home to the world’s largest concentration of Catholics, with Brazil and Mexico having the largest Catholic populations.

Pope Francis studied liberal arts in Santiago, Chile, and in 1960 earned a degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of Buenos Aires. 

He was ordained a priest in 1969, and is part of the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. Before becoming a cardinal in 2001, he served as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998.

As a priest and a cardinal he became known for his simple lifestyle, personal humility, doctrinal conservatism and a commitment to social justice.

Source –  THE TIMES OF EARTH and agencies