ROME — A papal conclave to name the next pope has concluded at the Vatican, naming Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, of Argentina as the next Pope. Bergoglio is the first Pope from Latin America in the history of the Catholic Church.
Wednesday evening white smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel as the bells of St. Peter Basilica tolled out ‘Habemus papem”, meaning the Catholic Church now has a new Pope.
French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran named Pope Francis from a balcony over the main doors of St. Peter’s Basilica as tens of thousands of onlookers cheered from the square below.
Addressing the crowd, Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for him before blessing the eager crowd. “Good night and good rest,” Pope Francis said. As the crowd shouting “Grazie!” in reply, bells began sounding throughout Vatican City.
Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, is the Argentine-born son of Italian immigrants, and his presence is expected to bring a ‘compassionate conservative’ to the Church, according to RT. The son of an Italian railwa worker, Bergoglio reportedly came second during the 2005 conclave which chose his predecessor Benedict XVI.
Pope Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, stepped down last month amid scandal. He cited a “lack of strength of mind and body” due to his advanced age as his reason for retiring, but skeptics believe revelations in a 300-page compendium of investigated sex scandals is likely the root cause for Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation.
Pope Benedict XVI was the first Pope to resign in 600 years, amid revelations of corruption, petty infighting and mismanagement in the Catholic Church.
The problems facing the Church split the College of Cardinals into camps; one seeking a radical reformer as Pope, the other, including the Holy See’s governance, wanting to defend the status quo.