JORGE MARIO BERGOGLIO OF ARGENTINA ELECTED AS POPE FRANCIS 1

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has greeted crowds in Rome's St Peter's Square after his election as the Catholic Church's new Pope.

Appearing on a balcony over the square, he asked the faithful to pray for him. Cheers erupted as he gave a blessing.

The first Latin American and the first Jesuit to be pontiff, he will call himself Francis I.

An hour earlier, white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney announced the new Pope's election.

Pope Francis, 76, replaces Benedict XVI, who resigned last month at the age of 85, saying he was not strong enough to lead the Church.

French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran announced his election with the Latin words "Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam" ("I announce to you a great joy. We have a Pope").

The election was met with thunderous applause at the cathedral in Buenos Aires, his home city.

Correspondents say he was a surprise choice and not among a small group of frontrunners before the election.

Many observers were also expecting a younger pope to be elected.

The 115 cardinals have been in isolation since Tuesday afternoon, and held four inconclusive votes.

At least 77 of them, or two-thirds, would have had to vote for a single candidate for him to be elected Pope.

Before the conclave began, there was no clear frontrunner to replace Benedict.

Crowds with umbrellas massed in the square flying flags from around the world.

The Catholic News Agency said people were running through the streets of Rome, hoping to reach St Peter's Square in time for the appearance of the new Pope.


Biography of Pope Francis l

Francis (Latin: Franciscus; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; December 17, 1936) is pope of the Catholic Church, elected on March 13, 2013, and taking the regnal name of Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi.

Prior to his election, he served as an Argentine cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires since 1998. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001.

Early life

Jorge Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, one of the five children of an Italian railway worker and his wife. After studying at the seminary in Villa Devoto, he entered the Society of Jesus on March 11, 1958. Bergoglio obtained a licentiate in philosophy from the Colegio Máximo San José in San Miguel, and then taught literature and psychology at the Colegio de la Inmaculada in Santa Fe, and the Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 13, 1969, by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. He attended the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel, a seminary in San Miguel. Bergoglio attained the position of novice master there and became professor of theology.

Impressed with his leadership skills, the Society of Jesus promoted Bergoglio and he served as provincial for Argentina from 1973 to 1979. He was transferred in 1980 to become the rector of the seminary in San Miguel where had had studied. He served in that capacity until 1986. He completed his doctoral dissertation in Germany and returned to his homeland to serve as confessor and spiritual director in Córdoba.
Styles of
Jorge Mario Bergoglio
Coat of arms of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.svg
Reference style His Holiness
Spoken style Your Holiness
Informal style Cardinal
See Buenos Aires

Bergoglio succeeded Cardinal Quarracino on February 28, 1998. He was concurrently named ordinary for Eastern Catholics in Argentina, who lacked their own prelate. Pope John Paul II summoned the newly named archbishop to the consistory of February 21, 2001 in Vatican City and elevated Bergoglio with the papal honors of a cardinal. He was named to the Cardinal-Priest of Saint Robert Bellarmino.
Cardinal
Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio greets President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, December, 2007.

As cardinal, Bergoglio was appointed to several administrative positions in the Roman Curia. He served on the Congregation of Clergy, Congregation of Divine Worship and Sacraments, Congregation of Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Congregation of Societies of Apostolic Life. Bergoglio became a member of the Commission on Latin American and the Family Council.

As Cardinal, Bergoglio became known for personal humility, doctrinal conservatism and a commitment to social justice. A simple lifestyle has contributed to his reputation for humility. He lives in a small apartment, rather than in the palatial bishop's residence. He gave up his chauffeured limousine in favor of public transportation, and he reportedly cooks his own meals.

Upon the death of Pope John Paul II, Bergoglio, considered papabile himself, participated in the 2005 papal conclave as a cardinal elector, the conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. A widespread theory says that he was in a tight fight with Ratzinger until he himself adviced crying[clarification needed] not to be voted.[2] Earlier, he had participated in the funeral of Pope John Paul II and acted as a regent alongside the College of Cardinals, governing the Holy See and the Roman Catholic Church during the interregnum sede vacante period. Cardinal Bergoglio remains eligible to participate in conclaves that begin before his 80th birthday on December 17, 2016.

During the 2005 Synod of Bishops, he was elected a member of the Post-Synodal council. Catholic journalist John L. Allen, Jr. reported that Bergoglio was a frontrunner in the 2005 Conclave. An unauthorized diary of uncertain authenticity released in September 2005[3] confirmed that Bergogolio was the runner-up and main challenger of Cardinal Ratzinger at that conclave. The purported diary of the anonymous cardinal claimed Bergoglio received 40 votes in the third ballot, but fell back to 26 at the fourth and decisive ballot.

On November 8, 2005, Bergoglio was elected President of the Argentine Episcopal Conference for a three-year term (2005–2008) by a large majority of the Argentine bishops, which according to reports confirms his local leadership and the international prestige earned by his alleged performance in the conclave. He was reelected on November 11, 2008.


Information from BBC and Wikipedia was used for this report.