(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
BY ZACH TOOMBS
The leaders of the Catholic Church have chosen
a new pope — in a decision that signaled
a new era for the institution and shocked
international observers.
Argentina’s Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who chose
the name Pope Francis I, is not only the first
Latin American pope. He’s the modern era’s
first non-European to fill the role. He made
his first appearance as the new Church leader
Wednesday evening, emerging from the balcony
above St. Peter’s Square to wave to the
thousands gathered there. (Via the Vatican
Information Service)
The cardinals made their choice on the fifth
ballot and the second day of voting. For more
than an hour before that, the world waited
— as white smoke at the Vatican signaled
a new pope had been chosen — but his name
remained a secret.
The 76-year-old has served as the archbishop
of Buenos Aires since 1998 — but, to analysts,
he was nowhere near a frontrunner to replace
Pope Benedict XVI. Bergoglio is also the first
Jesuit to lead the Church. (Via Wikimedia
Commons)
Choosing the name they wish to be called as
pope is always the first question posed after
the selection of a new leader. NBC reports
it’s a tradition that began in 533 when
the Church decided a new pope named Mercurius
sounded a bit too much like the pagan god
“Mercury.”
Analysts read a lot into the name the new
pope chooses, and they say Bergoglio’s name,
Francis I, is a tribute to Saint Francis of
Assisi — a figure known for his commitment
to the poor.