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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
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What is the excitement here? Everyone should be frightened, because they are gathering to bring the SATAN and put him on display.Catholics better repent because they have been following a false god here on Earth. They need to come home to their real Christian church and the only true church of god the Eastern Orthodox Church . Ther is time for them yet if they abandon the idol worship here on earth in the likes of the POPE!!!! They should put all the cardinals in that stove and set them on fire and finally extinguish the Satans smoke!!!!
Sounds to me like you might be satan.
Surprised some environmental-nazi nutjobs haven't complained about the Vatican's use of smoke to communicate their message.. Doesn't the Vatican care about the environment?? Crap!! Shouldn't have even mentioned it...
Those that suggest that the catholic church still tries to hide pedophiles don't know what they are talking about and instead are simply trying to use past wrongs to continue to defame the institution. It is true the church had an archaic system that condoned internal review and punishment versus bringing priests to the outside authorities. This is no longer the case - the scandals that erupted caused a long overdue recognition that these serious crimes must be dealt with by a completely objective authority and not one that sought to protect the church. I am in my 50's and can remember when my Catholic High School was on the verge of closing - the nuns that staffed the school were being pulled out by their motherhouse as they were in greater need elsewhere - meetings of the parents of the students and church hierarchy were open to the public as they debated how to keep the school open - it was shocking the number of atheists and what can only be called catholic haters that showed up to these meetings to stand up and rant about no need for catholic schoold and to close the place - I will never forget it - the commentary on here is full of those same types - and that was long before there was any scandal to use as a justification for hatred or is it envy of those that have faith?
I am afraid that the catholic church is defaming and degrading itself for hiding sexual abuse perpetrators for years and years. The church did not come clean itself. It did not try to come out into the open on its own. No, it took the pain and suffering of abuse victims to shed light on the troubled church. Those poor boys, now men had to relive their pain committed by so called followers of Christ. Even the pope himself is crumbling under the scrutiny. Priests have gotten away with sexual abuse far too long and the leaders of the church from bishops to cardinals to the pope can no longer hide.
the Catholic Church has been a haven for homosexuals for centuries. give one child to God...yeah, well they gave the gay one so the family wouldnt be ridiculed for having a gay child they couldnt marry off...so, what you are saying is wrong. The Church REFUSES to change with the times...they ban homosexuals, yet, the clergy is majority gay, they wont allow women to be priests, which is totally discriminatory. I grew up Catholic, went to catachism and Catholic High School and walked out on a homily back in the 80s that dissed women. I still consider myself a Catholic but facts are facts. blind faith does not change the facts. You cannot ignore them.
I wonder if the chemicals that is added to the fire to make the smoke black or white is GREEN as not to pollute the atmosphere.. haha..
Even according to you greenies, every time you exhale you pollute.
Both ends.
How is it possible that so many kids can be molested by a single institution and its followers dont ask questions are these people above the law, all over the country children are being molested by priest no one is that holy, there are people in jail for life for these offenses yet Catholic priest are sent to other churches Why?
Where are the parents of these children.? If this happened to your child would you be silent.?
Saferider, where were the parents, you ask? They were probably busy being "good" Catholics and practicing their blind obedience. Even if a child did say something, he was most likely met with, "Johnny! Don't ever say that about Father again!" Catholics have all been raised on the philosphy of blind obedience and that blind obedience is what has allowed the priests to get away with child molestation for centuries. So don't blame it on the parents. Blame it on the "men of God" who used their power and authority to manipulate and abuse the most vulnerable among us.
If it is blue they are roasting hot wings.
Why do people care about this farce? Any authority the Catholic Church had was obviously lost during the early centuries of its formation under man. The authority they had was through their Bishops and they did not have authority to call apostles. All of the apostles were martyred or died. Now today, eleven of the popes in conclave have been involved in sexual abuse scandals, either as the perpetrator or protector of perpetrators, one of the cardinals who didn't attend admitted to sexual abuse. The pope himself had to step down because he is going to be tried in international court and he is seeking asylum. Please, wake up people!
I'm not religious but you will have to prove that one.
i am a Catholic and I think the whole thing is really dumb. just vote and get it over with. the mystery with the smoke - is it really necessary? I mean what does it really mean anyway. rididulous.
Oh, and by the way, while all those men are holed up together, they need to make some changes and let women become priests. I mean, really, the whole system is antiquated...
I hope we have an American Pope.
White smoke means they are burning the evidence!
How big of a bong would one need to hotbox the Sistine Chapel?
Duck, duck, duck, duck, POPE!
Funny how you anti-religion goofballs have the guts to run off at the mouth about the Catholic church but when it comes to Muslim extremists you cower away like cockroaches when the lights come on. Why so afraid of the Muslim religion??
Where do you get that bull@!$%# from?Muslims are nut jobs just as much as christians are.I would burn a Koran as fast as i would burn a Bible so who is afraid?
I am not what you would call religious but agree with you 100%.
Who is cowering Ima? The liberal, democratic, left wing media? They are the only ones evading the subject of muslim extremism. Clean up you own back yard before making accusations.
Not so. There are neocon groups in the US that are in the business of spreading Islamophobia, and they have gotten plenty of media coverage by the major "left-wing" networks. They are run by hardline Zionist followers of Israel who promote the notion that America was attacked by radical Islam, not because of US Middle East policy and actions, and Israel's actions. Groups like:
"The Investigative Project on Terrorism Foundation," run by the now-discredited, so-called 'terrorism expert' Steven Emerson
"JihadWatch," run by Robert Spencer
"Atlas Shrugs," run by Pamela Geller
David Horowitz, of "Front Page Magazine"
Daniel Pipes, of "Campus Watch," which targets student groups and professors who express support for the Palestinian cause. Pipes is considered the 'godfather' of the anti-Islam movement in America.
The regrettable part is that their anti-Islam agenda has largely stuck with the American people, who continue to be confused about exactly why they were attacked on 9/11, or blame Islam outright.
Actually there are extremists of ALL religious faiths, including Christianity and Judaism.
Hey mohammed, neocon groups in America spreading islamophobia??? The only ones spreading islamophobia are muslims by their actions, thought, word and deed. Now put down the quoran, stop beating your wife and kids and open your eyes.
"Funny how you anti-religion goofballs have the guts to run off at the mouth about the Catholic church but when it comes to Muslim extremists you cower away like cockroaches when the lights come on. Why so afraid of the Muslim religion??"
No, I'm all for equal opportunity anti-religion for any organized religion. I believe they're all corrupt... the Islamic religion included. It's all very close to what the Bible teaches if you ever choose to read it with an open mind... and especially as the "end draws near." Religions and governments and false prophets... all of that. I think anyone who thinks "MY religion is better than YOUR religion" is delusional but very nicely brainwashed. "MY Daddy can beat up YOUR Daddy with one hand tied behind his back... so there!"
Does anyone other than catholics really give a damn about all this nonsense? Why all the pomp and circumstance over the appointment of a man to head a church? Is this really what God and Christ had in mind with Christianity? Enough of all the man worship. What other religion subjects the masses to their protocol of electing a leader? Are there not more important issues going on in the world? This is a prime example of why people are fed up with religion....worshipping a man instead of Christ/God. What other church leader has people bowing down and kissing their ring? The whole idea of this ritual is ridiculous
If you find it so ridiculous why do you continue to follow the stories and comment on them. I have no interest in sports, so I choose not to follow it. Nor do I take the time to comment. I could easily make derogatory comments about various sports and teams, but what purpose would it serve.
Daisy Do, first of all I am NOT "following" the stories...that would infer I am reading the whole story. One can't help but see the headlines, it's on MSN, in the papers, on the local news, on the national news. Why not just ask why does one follow the sun...it's there, you can't avoid it, which is my point. These self serviong catholics think the world revolves around the pope...here's a newsflash you can follow....IT DOESN'T...so maybe the catholic church needs to quit treating the pope like he were God himself....get over yourselves and maybe you should rethink your position about worshipping a man/idol...ya know, that whole golden calf thing in the bible...have you followed that story???
Who gives a rat's ass.
Black smoke? Nice to see an environmentally friendly Vatican. At least we know one thing; the next Pope will certainly die of lung cancer!
MANY,many,many of us could care less if pink smoke comes out. What if Mormons, Baptistd, Buddists or whatever did this ridiculous ritual??? You would hear a howl from many about seperation of church and state, bias or whatever. Most people on earth are not catholic.
`I think I've had enough of this secret society bullcrap, controlled by a bunch of child molesting sex maniacs
and filthy perverts and lying scumbags who are nothing but Devil worshippers and evil monsters!!!!!!
Screw the pope!!!!!!
Honestly! Who cares, this person is a figurehead like the queen of England! I have a basic distaste for any organization that protects child molesters. Here is the other headline on MSN that people should be paying attention to regarding the Catholic Church:
"Archdiocese of Los Angeles settles four sex abuse cases for $10 million"
These guys are monsters and have been protect by the church for years. I realize they are not all bad, but there is enough of them and they've destroyed enough lives that it discredits the whole organization in my view.
Where were the parents.? Would you sit by silent.?
I think this has everything to do money....
How dare those parents leave their child in the "care" of someone who is generally lauded as a pillar of the community!
Victim blaming scum.
This old fashioned smoke signal stuff just contributes to poor air quality in Rome.
Hey maybe some flashing LED signs could tell the story:
Red for no deal
Green with some fireworks graphics when they decide.
Include the electee's stats: number of years as a pervert, number of accusations, hearings, convictions.
Meds anyone...........
Tongue-in-cheek.
Come on, this is a fun subject, besides the child molester part of it.
Why bother reporting on a church in deserved decline? As widely reported, youth are leaving the church in droves. No surprise. Remember that this church is very invested in suppressing women's rights to govern their own reproductive health, in successfully suppressing the teaching of sex education and contraceptive use in Africa and Latin America as well as in the USA, while protecting its sex-abuser-priests = thoroughly hypocritical with much rot at the core.
Don't forget trying to push their Genesis fairy tale in science classrooms!
The suspense, I can't take it.
You think they are all sitting around in there drinking wine just messing with the Catlick followers?
Give them some black smoke Vincenzo! It's a party ya'll!
I bet the alter boys are wishing this would wrap up soon!
Julie - the Catholic Church doesn't "ban homosexuals" - they are welcome into the church - the church does not however condone man sleeping with man...so the problem is obvious. The Catholic Church like many religions interprets the Bible too literally hence the unwillingness to accept gay love as normal behavior. As a gay man and a Catholic I have to grapple with my faith in the Catholic Church along with my belief I was born this way and am not a sinner by living my life as a gay man. The Catholic hierarchy comes and goes....and while the men who are this hierarchy have for most of the history of the catholic church condemned a homosexual lifestyle - in the end they are just men - they are not above being mistaken and misinterpreting God's plan - I am ok with living my life they way I believe I am intended along with being an active member of the Catholic Church...which is the church founded by Christ. All of the other Protestant churches, who in many cases more openly embrace gays, were all formed from dissenters from the Catholic Church. They all have their roots in the oldest church - the Catholic Church.
I hope they pick a black pope
My relatives jaw would drop. Then they would get angry. I would just love to see it all.
I wonder if they'd have any cute names for him like they surely do our current President?
Remember Bush's guy "brownie" ???
How cute
They should have a Giant statue put on top of the building in the bent over position because that 's all they been doing for centuries is blowing smoke up the peoples you know what, all the while the Priests in the U.S. have been giving more than just smoke.