The new Pope has been unveiled as
Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who will take
the name Pope Francis I. The 76-year-old was
welcomed by tens of thousands of overjoyed Catholics in St. Peter's Square in
the Vatican City after his election was revealed this afternoon at 6pm GMT when
white smoke poured out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Pope Francis becomes
the first South American Pontiff and the first Jesuit to hold the title. His
South American origin is a significant move for the Church, taking the Papacy
to a continent in which 42 per cent of the world's Catholics live. The reformist becomes
the third non-Italian Pope in a row, having being born and spent his life in
the Argentinian capital.
He began his address to the crowd
with a joke, saying that his brother cardinals had gathered to pick a bishop of
Rome 'and they have chosen one from far away but here I am'. He then
asked for prayers for his living predecessor. He said: 'First and
foremost I would like to pray for our emeritus Pope Benedict XVI that Christ
and the Madonna watch over him. 'Let us being this
journey together, this journey for the Roman Catholic Church. It's a journey of
friendship and love and faith between us. Let us pray for one another, let us
pray for all the world.' Then he asks the
crowd to be silent for a moment and pray for him as he accepted his new
position. 'I'd ask you to pray to God so that he can bless me,' Pope Francis
said, leading a silent prayer, followed by a loud cheer from the crowd.
He said that the
world 'should set off on a path of love and fraternity', leaving the address by
saying to the crowds: 'Good night and I wish you a peaceful rest.'
Pope Francis is
multilingual, speaking German, Spanish and Italian.
Tens of thousands
cheered in St. Paul's Square at the sight of the symbolic plumes, announcing
that the successor to Benedict XVI had finally been chosen after two days of
intense voting.
As excitement grew
before the Pope Francis's imminent appearance on the loggia, the crowd repeated
the refrain 'Viva il Papa' - translated as 'Long live the Pope'.
The new Pope was
dressed in his papal robes and joined in prayer with the other cardinals before
his appearance.
The conclave was
called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned last month for health reasons, sending
the church into turmoil and exposing deep divisions among cardinals tasked with
finding a replacement to address issues within the church.
Chants of `Long live the pope' arose from the throngs
of Catholics, many with tears in their eyes and the crowds buzzed with
excitement as the Vatican and Italian military bands marched through the square
and up the steps of the basilica.
Source: Dailymail
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