Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the Catholic Church's new pope on Wednesday night. Bergoglio, who will adopt the name Francis I, became the church's 266th pontiff.
He addressed the faithful from the balcony by St. Peter's Basilica after the announcement was made official. He represents the first pope from Latin America, and is seen as a conservative, according to news reports.
Last month's resignation of Benedict XVI prompted the 115 Roman Catholic cardinals to initiate a conclave, (a Latin phrase meaning, "with a key") to pick a new leader for the 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide. Within two days, Bergoglio won the "necessary two-thirds vote... of the conclave," Yahoo reported. Bergoglio was archbishop of Buenos Aires but stepped down last year.
Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from outside of Europe in more than a millennium, the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere.
The new church leader takes over an organization many say is in crisis, from damaging allegations of internal squabbling to the cover-up and abetting of sexual abuse. According to Yahoo, some reports indicate that the Catholic Church in the U.S. has paid out as much as $3 billion to settle sexual abuse claims, though others estimate a billion less.
Benedict XVI's surprise resignation has thrown the church into turmoil, "expos[ing] deep divisions among cardinals grappling with whether they need a manager to clean up the Vatican's dysfunctional bureaucracy or a pastor who can inspire Catholics at a time of waning faith and growing secularism," the Associated Press reported two days ago.
The leading contenders for pope were Cardinal Angelo Scola, and Cardinal Odilo Scherer. Bergoglio was reportedly 33-1 shot, according to businessinsider.com.
