Can you believe Wikipedia has already been updated: Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ (born December 17, 1936) is the current pope of the Roman Catholic Church, elected on March 13, 2013 and taking the regnal name of Francis? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Bergoglio
PADRAIG! WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL WOW! What a humble soul! Thank you Mary! He gave up all the pomp and fluff of limos and palaces and even cooks his own meals! All the conspiracy people are going nuts right now --we have a Jesuit!! What a blessing..even my dogs are excited! My son said Pope Francis has only one lung (I'm sure the 'breathing with both lungs' jokes are coming...lol) I really thought maybe an asian would make it. But seriously, he is a stoic humble soul. VERY conservative! He was 2nd choice behind Benedict in the last Conclave...I didn't know that...
Apparently the media have takne his choice of name wrong, he is named after St Francis Xavier, rather than Francis of Assisi. Xavier being of course a fellow Jesuit and a perfect model for evangelisation. I notice his middle name is after Our Lady A great choice, but he is a reformer and I think stormy waters are ahead. A brilliant choice, the work of God.
He is open to Medjugorje An Archbishop from Argentina visited Medjugorje Mons. Emilio Ogñénovich, retired Archbishop of Mercedes-Luján (Argentina) visited Medjugorje from the 25th to the 31st of May, 2006. During his visit, he met Fr. Ivan Sesar, the parish priest. Having founded both a catholic television station and a catholic radio station in Buenos Aires, Mons. Ogñénovich expressed his desire to visit Radio Mir Medjugorje, which he considers to be the vital organ of communication for Medjugorje. In an interview given to Huanita Dragićević, Mons. Emilio Ogñénovich said the following about Medjugorje: “Unfortunately, there is still a great deal of ignorance within the Church about the great supernatural reality that is happening in Medjugorje, at the heart of the modern world. What fills me with hope, are the words of John Paul II who told us, both priests and bishops, to accompany pilgrims to Medjugorje, because here they are praying, converting, fasting and changing their lives. The Church needs some more time to state its position in relation to Medjugorje, just as in its wisdom, it took time to state its position towards Fatima and Lourdes. Concerning Medjugorje, I will share my own personal conviction with my fellow bishops in the Bishops Conference of Argentina, and also with our cardinal, Mons. Bergoglio, who was very happy when I told him that I was going to Medjugorje. If you ask me for my opinion about Medjugorje, I will tell you that it can be compared to a mother, a pregnant woman in the sixth month of pregnancy, who impatiently awaits the moment to see her child born, but nobody can hasten it, because the right moment will come in its own good time.”
I also loved the way he called for prayer, he is so much at peace, clearly a man of the deepest prayer.
I just read a comment on another forum about our new pope, which is worded quite nicely: ". . . he has a thorn in the side of the leftist government that currently runs Argentina, the president of Argentina once singled him out calling him 'a relic of the middle ages and the inquisition'....i.e. paid him a compliment frankly..."
Faith Meet the New Pope! Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina Mar. 13, 2013 3:18pm Billy Hallowell 56 102 1 0 58 Italian cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio arrives for a meeting of pre-conclave on March 9, 2013 at the Vatican. Credit: AFP/Getty Images In a historic move, 76-year-old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected today. As the AP reports, Bergoglio is the first pope ever from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. He chose the name Pope Francis. Bergoglio’s age was a surprise, considering that many commentators assumed cardinals would select someone younger. But, alas, they chose someone who, by expert accounts, is more than qualified for the job. The Catholic Church’s new leader was born in 1936 and he has four brothers and sisters. While he originally wanted to be a chemist, his path took a very obvious turn. In 1958, the National Catholic Reporter claims that he joined the Society of Jesus and began preparing for the priesthood. Just over five decades later, he will now lead the church that he joined as a young man. Prior to his selection, CNN reported that Pergoglio is known as a “straight-shooter” who has no problem calling things as he sees them. Crushing dreams that he will take the church in a more liberal direction, he subscribes to the church’s most conservative wing. On contraceptives and gay marriages, he has taken strict, conservative stances. Newly elected Pope Francis I waves to the waiting crowd from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the 266th Pontiff and will lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. Credit: Getty Images
His parents immigrated to South American from Italy. So, what does that make him--an Italian or South American pope? I'd say South American. My ancestors are all from Germany, but I see myself as an American. I hold Germany close to my heart though.
he archbishop of Buenos Aires spent nearly his entire career at home in Argentina, overseeing churches and shoe-leather priests. It is believed that he was nearly selected during the 2005 conclave. Prior to his selection, the National Catholic Reporter noted just how close to the papacy he might have been last go-around: After the dust settled from the election of Benedict XVI, various reports identified the Argentine Jesuit as the main challenger to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. One cardinal later said the conclave had been “something of a horse race” between Ratzinger and Bergoglio, and an anonymous conclave diary splashed across the Italian media in September 2005 claimed that Bergoglio received 40 votes on the third ballot, just before Ratzinger crossed the two-thirds threshold and became pope. Though it’s hard to say how seriously one should take the specifics, the general consensus is that Bergoglio was indeed the “runner-up” last time around. He appealed to conservatives in the College of Cardinals as a man who had held the line against liberalizing currents among the Jesuits, and to moderates as a symbol of the church’s commitment to the developing world.Watch the Vatican’s announcement and Pope Francis’ reveal, below: The Register also notes that he’s a scholar who has deep roots in theology, having studied in Germany. He’s known for being down-to-earth, rejecting a chauffeured limousine instead to take public transportation to work. He also cooked his own meals — another sign that he is concerned with relating to the people. Considering these personal life choices, it’s no surprise that Pope Francis is a fierce defender of the poor. In the past, he has spoken openly about his belief that there is an “unjust distribution of goods.” In 2007, he said, “We live in the most unequal part of the world, which has grown the most yet reduced misery the least. The unjust distribution of goods persists, creating a situation of social sin that cries out to Heaven and limits the possibilities of a fuller life for so many of our brothers.” Pope Francis flanked by Monsignor Guido Marini, master of liturgical ceremonies, waves to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 13, 2013. Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who chose the name of Francis is the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Credit: AP On Wednesday, after announcing `’Habemus Papum” – `’We have a pope!” — a cardinal standing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday revealed the identity of the new pontiff, using his Latin name. Bergoglio had reportedly finished second in the 2005 conclave that produced Benedict XVI — who last month became the first pope to resign in 600 years. A stunned-looking Bergoglio shyly waved to the crowd of tens of thousands of people who gathered in St. Peter’s Square, marveling that the cardinals had had to look to “the end of the earth” to find a bishop of Rome. He asked for prayers for himself, and for retired Pope Benedict XVI, whose stunning resignation paved the way for the tumultuous conclave that brought the first Jesuit to the papacy. The cardinal electors overcame deep divisions to select the 266th pontiff in a remarkably fast conclave
According to the Boston Globe, 76-year-old Bergoglio has been a cardinal since Feb. 21, 2001, after he was appointed by John Paul II. Bergoglio is the first non-European pope in modern history.
i think he will be a Pope of the people He's also seen as a genuinely spiritual soul, and a man of deep prayer. "Only someone who has encountered mercy, who has been caressed by the tenderness of mercy, is happy and comfortable with the Lord," Bergoglio said in 2001. "I beg the theologians who are present not to turn me in to the Sant'Uffizio or the Inquisition; however, forcing things a bit, I dare to say that the privileged locus of the encounter is the caress of the mercy of Jesus Christ on my sin."
And he was ordained on December 13, (13 again) 1969. Perhaps this is the pope who will witness the fulfillment of Fatima?
