Pope Francis: 266th Leader of the Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church has a new and His name is Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but he will be known henceforth as Pope Franci who is also the first Latin American and Jesuit Cardinal to become Pope. It took the 115 cardinal electors locked inside the ornate Sistine Chapel just a day and a half to send a cloud of white smoke up a chimney and into the air over St. Peter's Square, signaling the decisive vote -- at least 77 of them agreed that Bergoglio was the right man to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.

Thousands of the faithful and the curious huddled underneath umbrellas in a rain-drenched St. Peter's Square erupted in applause and cheers upon seeing the white plume drift over the Chapel.

L'Osservatore Romano, via Reuters

Pope Francis began his first full day in office on Thursday with private prayers at a Roman basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary.



The new Pope has revealed how he chose the name Francis as his official title, saying his choice was inspired by St Francis of Assisi and reflected his desire for the Catholic Church to be an institution “of the poor, for the poor.”

He has stunned Vatican officials in his first few days as Pope, declining the papal limousine in favour of minibuses, addressing cardinals as his “brothers” rather than “my lord cardinals” and paying his own bill at the clerical residence he stayed in before the conclave.