Vatican City, March 14 – When Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio won the papal conclave’s vote for new pope onWednesday, March 13, he also announced his new name: Francis, or Francesco in Latin, in honour of San Francis of Assisi.
Francis, 76, is the first Jesuit pope, and the first non-European pontiff in over 1300 years. He is doctrinally conservative like his predecessor Benedict XVI though he is considered progressive for his strong support of helping the poor. Francis becomes the 266th pontiff in the Church’s 2,000-year history at a time of great struggle for the church, and leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.
In his first words on the balcony of St Peter’s, he said the cardinals who elected him had chosen someone “from the end of the Earth”, then prayed an Our Father for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who stepped down last month. The soft-spoken prelate was elected roughly 24 hours after the first voting sessions closed Tuesday – a quick turnaround in an election where no clear frontrunner had emerged beforehand. It took only five scrutinies, or ballots, to reach a two-thirds majority, or 77 votes, among the 115 cardinal-electors inside the Sistine Chapel during the conclave.
Francis was a strong contender in 2005, coming in second when cardinals ultimately elected Benedict XVI, according to some Vatican watchers, and according to the diary of a cardinal-elector encouraged his supporters not to vote for him.
One of five children, he is the son of a railway worker. As a student he worked as a bouncer at a nightclub to support himself. He is known to like tango, and even had a girlfriend he danced with before becoming a priest. Bergoglio has so far lived in a modest flat, is said to cook his own meals, and gave up a car and driver in favor of public transportation.
Bergoglio, whose great-grandfather was from the northern Italian region of Piedmont, is believed to be close to the Communion and Liberation movement, a doctrinally conservative group founded in the 1960s partly in response to Marxism and other leftist movements. His predecessors Benedict XVI and John Paul II were supporters of the movement.
Pope Francis I was given a warm welcome by leaders and faithful worldwide after being elected the new head of the Catholic Church on Wednesday.
Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno was in St Peter’s Square for the Francis’s first appearance as pope and was one of the first to greet the promotion of the Argentine, who also becomes the new bishop of Rome: “A warm welcome to the new pontiff Jorge Mario Bergoglio,” said Alemanno on his Twitter account. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was moved by the simplicity of Francis’s first comments as pope.
United States President Barack Obama said that he was looking forward to working with the new head of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics:
“As a champion of the poor and the most vulnerable among us, he carries forth the message of love and compassion that has inspired the world for more than 2,000 years – that in each other we see the face of God,” Obama said in a statement. “As the first pope from the Americas, his selection also speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world, and alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the United States share the joy of this historic day. “Just as I appreciated our work with Pope Benedict XVI, I look forward to working with His Holiness to advance peace, security and dignity for our fellow human beings, regardless of their faith”.
The new pope took the name Francis to honour Saint Francis of Assisi, according to American Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.
There had been speculation that the pontiff may have become the first pope to take the name Francis as a tribute to Francis Xavier, a 16th-century Spanish saint and co-founder of the Jesuits order that the newly elected pope belongs to.
But Dolan said Francis I has revealed this is not the case to the cardinals who elected him at the conclave.
“The pope told us that he chose the name Francis in honour of Francis of Assisi,” Dolan told reporters.
“St Francis took care of the poor and humble and this will be his job”.
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