VATICAN CITY: Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis I on Wednesday, becoming the first Latin American pontiff in a surprise decision that signalled a desire for a more open Catholic Church.
The 76-year-old moderate emerged smiling on to the balcony of St Peter's Basilica to cries of "Long live the pope!" as tens of thousands of pilgrims cheered, cried and applauded. More: The Star..Argentina's Bergoglio elected first Latin American pope
yes and the first one that is the first non-European pontiff in nearly 1,300 years
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Calls for a celebration, doesn't it?
DeleteYour post made me wonder how many Roman Catholics there are in Malaysia. Wikipedia tells me 850 000.
ReplyDeleteI've read humorous tweets from Africa that say it's a pity it's not a blope (black pope), but that's probably asking a bit too much from such a traditional institution.
Nevertheless, a non-European pope. Yay for the third world! ;)