Staff Writer
Jorge
Mario Bergoglio was chosen to be the 266th pontiff of the Roman
Catholic Church on Wednesday, March 13, 2013. His official title is Pope
Francis, the first pope to choose this name. From Argentina, Pope Francis is
the first non-European pope in more than 1,200 years and is the first pope from
the Americas. He is the first Jesuit to be elected as pope. With 115 Cardinals
eligible to vote, it took only two days for a decision to be made.
Pope
Francis had been the archbishop of Buenos Aires since 1998 and lived a relatively
simple life in an apartment in Buenos Aires. Along with living in an apartment,
Pope Francis cooked his own meals and rode the bus to work each day. Due to the
new pope’s conservative beliefs it is likely that he will continue with the
traditional view of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. These views include
opposition to, abortion, gay marriage and the ordination of women.
Pope
Francis is one of five children and was born on Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires.
Before joining the seminary Pope Francis went to school to get a chemistry
degree. Pope Francis speaks multiple languages including German, Spanish and
Italian and he was the runner up in the last election for a new pope. According
to the New York Times Pope Francis is
from a continent in which most of the worlds Catholics reside and people are
expecting great things from him.
The
installment mass for Pope Francis took place on Tuesday, March 19 at St.
Peter’s Square.
Sources:
New York Times, Huffington post
