Argentine cardinal becomes Pope Francis I

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope today and chose the papal name Francis I, becoming the first pontiff from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. A stunned-looking Bergoglio shyly waved to the tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square to await the announcement. He marveled aloud that the cardinals had had to look to “the end of the earth” to find a Bishop of Rome, who also leads the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. He asked for prayers for himself, and for retired Pope Benedict XVI, whose stunning resignation paved the way for this week’s conclave, which culminated with the election of the first Jesuit priest to the papacy. The cardinal electors overcame deep divisions to select the 266th pontiff in a remarkably fast conclave. Bergoglio had reportedly finished second in the 2005 conclave that produced Benedict, who last month became the first pope to resign in 600 years. The 76-year-old former archbishop of Buenos Aires has spent nearly his entire career in his native Argentina, overseeing churches and shoe-leather priests. Elected on the fifth ballot, Francis was chosen in one of the fastest conclaves in memory.