Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the first non-European Pontiff in 1000 years. Anointed Pope Francis the First, he becomes the first Jesuit and Latin American to be awarded the Church’s MVP.
While Pope Francis’ election does away with many entrenched traditions, the church has once again chosen wisdom over youth. At 76, it hardly screams ‘planning for the future’, but the nature of his role indicates he’ll have at last one very influential player in his corner.
With several outstanding candidates to choose from, it’s not yet clear how Pope Francis got over the line. The fact that he doesn’t looked like a sci-fi super villain, e.g. the Emperor, no doubt worked in his favour. His self-effacing humble nature and manner in which he modernised the the Argentinian Catholic church were probably factors also.
In his first address, Pope Francis acknowledged the bishops for taking a punt on a long shot. “You know that the work of the conclave is to give a bishop to Rome. It
seems as if my brother cardinals went to find him from the end of the
earth. Thank you for the welcome,” he said before blessing the city and “all men and women of goodwill.”
Pictures Joe Raedle,
Johannes Eisele/AFT/Getty Images
