Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected as the new pope on Wednesday, becoming the first ever pontiff from the Americas as well as the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium.
Bergoglio, who has taken the name Pope Francis, replaces Pope Benedict XVI, who became the first pontiff to resign in 600 years when he stepped down last month. He is said to have finished second in the 2005 conclave that chose Pope Benedict.
The 76-year-old archbishop of Buenos Aires, well known for his simplicity as well as humility, was elected as the 266th pontiff on the fifth ballot of the 115 voting cardinals, who began their conclave to choose a new pontiff on Tuesday. He will now lead the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.
Earlier on Wednesday, the selection of the new pope was signaled at about 7 pm local time by a white plume of smoke coming from the chimney on the roof of Sistine Chapel in the Vatican where the cardinals had gathered. The winner required at least 77 votes, or two-thirds of the 115, to be named pope.
Hours later, a cardinal on the balcony over the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica revealed the identity of the new pope to the public, using his Latin name, after announcing “Habemus Papam.”
Francis made his first public appearance as pope wearing simple white robes, waving shyly to the tens of thousands of people who gathered at the St. Peter’s Square in anticipation of seeing the new pope in person.
There was a huge cheering crowd that braved the cold and rain to see the new pope. Pope Francis began his first public remarks as the pontiff by saying: “Brothers and sisters, good evening.”
“You know that the work of the conclave is to give a bishop to Rome. It seems as if my brother cardinals went to find him from the end of the earth. Thank you for the welcome,” he said.
The new pope then offered a prayer for his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, and invited the faithfuls in the square to pray for the entire world, saying:”I hope that this path for the church will be one fruitful for evangelisation.”
Pope Francis takes charge at a time when the reputation of the Catholic Church had been tarnished, with sexual abuse and child-abuse scandals involving members of the clergy. Many nations, including Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Ireland and the United States have initiated independent probes in sex-abuse claims.
The scandals have already forced a number of bishops in several countries to step down. In the wake of the scandals, the Vatican recently issued new guidelines to bishops across the world for handling all suspected abuse cases involving the clergy, including the reporting of all such cases to the police.
by RTT Staff Writer
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