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Subscribe to RSSHailing from Argentina, Cardinal Bergoglio – now Pope Francis, is known as a humble man who forgoes a chauffeur to take the bus to work. As the first Jesuit pope, it's expected Francis will encourage priests to evangelize, educating others in the Catholic faith. NBC's Anne Thompson reports
VATICAN CITY — Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years on Wednesday, signaling the beginning of a new era for a church combating scandal and internal strife.
Described as a conservative with "great compassion," the 76-year-old will be known as His Holiness Pope Francis. He will be installed at the Vatican on Tuesday.
The new pontiff named himself after the humble Catholic friar St. Francis of Assisi. President Barack Obama hailed the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics as a "champion of the poor."
The first Latin American pope was introduced from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
There was an audible gasp from the rain-soaked crowd - an indication that he had not been a widely tipped choice - followed by a roar and wild applause.
In Italian, he seemed to address his outsider status by joking: "As you know the duty of the conclave is to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother cardinals went almost to the end of the world."
Newly-elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio speaks to St. Peter's Square and delivers a blessing after being elected as Pope Francis I.
“Pray for me and I will see you soon," he added, asking Catholics to also pray for his predecessor Benedict XVI, who abdicated on Feb. 28. "Have a good evening and rest well.”
His first act on Thursday will be to visit his predecessor, the Pope Emeritus, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan told reporters later.
A vocal advocate for Argentina’s poor during the economic crises that struck the country during the 1970s, Francis is the first Jesuit pope.
Vote: Was Pope Francis a good choice?
Known for his humility, Francis is the son of a railway worker and one of five siblings. He has a chemistry degree.
Francis has only one fully-functioning lung, the other having been partially removed due to an infection when he was a teenager.
He prizes simplicity and is expected to encourage priests to do shoe-leather evangelization, according to his biographer.
Shortly after his election, Francis skipped the limousine and chose instead to ride on the last shuttle bus with other cardinals to go back to the Vatican for a meal.
"And as the last bus pulls up, guess who gets off? It's Pope Francis. I guess he told the driver 'That's OK, I'll just go with the boys,'" Dolan told reporters.
Later, during the dinner, Dolan said Francis showed his humorous side.
"We toasted him and when he toasted us he said: 'May God forgive you,' which brought the house down," he said.
About an hour before Francis emerged on the balcony, white smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel and bells rang out across Rome to signal a decision had been made.
The unveiling of the new pope was moment of pure joy for the 100,000 pilgrims, tourists and other onlookers in St Peter's Square.
"Who is this?" asked Deirdre Sweeney from Boston, Mass., when Francis first walked onto the balcony.
"Argentinian!" shouted a man nearby.
Americans were among the tens of thousands who gathered to witness the unveiling of Pope Francis.
“I think this is wonderful,” said Sweeney’s husband, Kevin. “It's an incredible breakthrough. It's a great recognition for the church that the church is not euro-centric anymore."
Another man shouted: "It’s very gutsy that he chose the name Francis, he’s going to be the first Francis. He wants to be a humble pope and build the church up, from a time of ruin, like St. Francis of Assisi."
Smoke billowed from the chimney at 7:07 p.m. local time (2:07 p.m. ET) on the second day of behind-closed-doors voting.
The cardinals are thought to have taken five ballots to reach the two-thirds of the vote necessary for a decision.
The new pontiff's debut was heralded by a Latin announcement beginning with the phrase "Habemus Papam!" meaning, "We have a pope!"
George Weigel, NBC News' Vatican analyst, said Francis would be "a great defender of religion around the world.”
“The papacy has moved to the New World. The church has a new pope with a new name,” he added. “I think it speaks to the church’s commitment to the poor of the world and compassion in a world that often needs a lot of healing.”
NBC News Special Report: The Vatican announces that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected as the new head of the Catholic Church.
Obama said the choice of the first pope from the Americas spoke "to the strength and vitality" of a region "that is increasingly shaping our world."
"Alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the United States share the joy of this historic day," the president said in a statement.
Now known as Pope Emeritus, Francis' predecessor Benedict watched Wednesday's events from a temporary lakeside residence at Castel Gandolfo while his permanent living quarters inside Vatican City are refurbished.
The behind-the-scenes ballot process that took place in the Sistine Chapel should still remain a secret. Both the cardinals and staff working alongside them swore an oath of secrecy as the conclave got under way, with the threat of ex-communication for anyone breaking the church's ancient code.
NBC News' Yuka Tachibana and Richard O'Kelly, and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected to lead the Catholic Church following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
Related:
Pope Francis: Humble leader who takes the bus to work
'He’s not feeble in any way': World reacts to a new pontiff
Full coverage of Pope Francis from NBC News
This story was originally published on Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:14 AM EDT
Leave a Comment:
Cheryl is it interest in the Pope or just interest in the cult-like fanaticism around it. Strange garb, incense swinging, child molestation, deep hidden secrecy. Kind of the same reason we like mystery movies.
... and observing the Democratic Party.
i could give a hoot, aint gonna make my life easier, better, richer...
Long live The Vicar of Christ!! Even the liberal media knows The Catholic Church is founded by Jesus Christ!
LMFAO... and Obama is God!
Vicar ? I think you mean vector, as in disease carrier.
What a stupid religion. All for money and nothing else.
I think you meant to say "money for nothin' and chicks for free".
The Catholic church employs over a million people, has a quarter of the top 100 hospitals, 7 of the top 25 law schools, and does amazing charity work throughout the world....yet the losers on the blog focus on a few bad seeds out of over a million employees......Soldiers in the US military have been accused of rape, child molestation, murder, etc.... yet nobody regards the entire military as a bunch of thieves, rapists, chomos, and murders....the ignorance of the majority of these posters is alarming...
nope Jeremy. If you are one of the million employee who embrace protecting child molesters so as not to embarrass the wonderful world of the church then shame on you as well. All the Catholic Church has to do is come clean and fix it. But instead they toss these broken children on the heap of trash left by the swath they cut in the name of the Lord. And let me understand...it is your position that the US military supports the serial rape of children? When a girl is raped at Notre Dame I dont blame the school or the student body or the church. When the church conspires to protect molesters it is a criminal act and those who assist are criminals. Lets get clear on your point.
It would be pleasant if what they taught was truthful. Hitler did nice things too I hear. So does the Nation of Islam and Hamas has programs to get young men off of drugs. Fail.
Doesn't truth matter? It's all about comfort (aferlife promises) or fear (afterlife threats) for you folks. Facts and logic be damned. Sigh.
And of that million people only a few have got caught.
Considering all the secrecy involved in that religion there could be thousands more not YET caught.
You didnt say anything about feeding people truths from Gods word. Everything else is all for naught without that. You need to do God's will God's way.
I am former military and I am not Catholic...The military like most large male dominated organizations has covered rape, murder, etc.. That is a documented fact. I do not consider all soldiers to be evil or to commit crimes because it is pure ignorance to blame the actions of a few on the majority. You like most people fixate on an issue that is very unfortunate because you are sad and hateful inside. Why not just go back to watching the Kardashians rather than spreading hate....
UPSDOWN,
Don't sell goofiness here. You faith-people make it up as you go. That's what faith is. You really know God's Will? Funny how that always coincides with your desires, isn't it? Not long ago God's Will was totally cool with slavery. Funny, eh?
Faith is a cognitive illness.
I am sure your words are super meaningful since your are an atheist... you just make atheist look like sad hateful people....typical idiot does more damage than good
Pope Charles Manson, killing all that are not Christian. The Church of Judas Iscariot is all you get - you are a psychiatric dumping ground.
Never trust the church.... Rev 13. They are professional thieves and are the front row of hell. Who else other than Judas Iscariot could forgive himself in business? You would be better belonging to an honest country club than the professional fork these dead burying the dead. Does God get any work from them?
Only the gullible Catholics care.
Really? Then why are you watching like the entire world? Even all the haters on here know The Catholic Church is Christ's Church.
Might be, Tarpeian43, that the media has interrupted most air space - radio or tv.
The Catholic Church has produced the greatest minds in history!!!! Please do yourself a favor and read a little history.
Or it may be the historical record. Just check the encyclopedia Britannica.
And he rises out of the Abyss.
There is no such thing as a "two-thirds majority." A "majority" is any thing greater than one half. A "two-thirds" vote is anything over two-thirds. Check with an parliamentary procedure source.
Oh Boyyyyyyy They pick-a duh next-a Pope....Who freaking cares.........
Pope groupies.
They're moving in herds, they do move in herds. .............. Moo !
Black smoke? White smoke? No smoke?
YAWN! ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
If it were red smoke, Barack Oblumbler would have been chosen.
We can only hope that this pope will actually see pedophilia in the priesthood as problem that needs to be dealt with.
I think people have forgotten who's really GOD and Jesus,so many place their trust in holy men that are just as sinful as sin. All those years some has gotten away with child rape and molestations but they are most holy. shame on that sinful,evil,greedy cults.The Bible tells you it is a sin to honor statues,candles,other men and most of to confess in a booth. People best open their eyes and confess and pray to their Maker and stop the pagan ways.
Repent you sinners!
I guess they (the cardinals) wanted to make a decision soon. After all, the Ides of March is only two days away.
Buy a plenary indulgence, win a free ride in a purgatory proof wiener mobile !
Reformation Rocks, yaaaaay Luther!
Will this new pope be Mormon? If so, why?
In His love and mercy, may Our Father guide this Pope, the Church, and all of us on earth.
Perhaps they are mistaken, and the clergy are just cooking themselves up some eggs. You people read too much into this lol.
They just got finished watching Breaking Bad and were all like, "Damn we should totally cook meth", and so they did. They cooked meth.
The smoke is a false alarm. Cardinal Hemp was just doing a bong hit.
If you don't cough you don't get...err...a new pope?
now all you self moral haters will have to find some other story to troll, goodbye. hope you enjoy an eternity away from God.
Maybe this new pope can do something about all this rampant masturbation.
WHO CARES!!!!! What year is it, 500a.d.? Are people still mentally incapable of realizing religion is still and always will be a control mechanism? You're all cattle if you give a @!$%# about the new pope(pedophile monger). He is irrelevant to the evolution of our species. Religion and its clerics have stunted our growth for thousands of years. WAKE UP!, for the future of our species' sake. Religion is nothing more than a "evil genius hustle" on the masses. Read a math, science book or anything other than "the one" you have read your whole life and really enlighten yourself. My apologies if this all seems a bit too harsh to read, the truth does hurt. You have wasted enough energy on spare ribs(pun intended) and walking on water nonsense. It's all a magic trick with the white smoke and all. Really? White smoke? Food for thought...
ELSORSO - I agree that "religion" and the organized church are controlling mechanisms. However, a strong belief in a higher Being and spirituality is not controlling and is necessary to our beings.....