I'm watching the new Pope give his first blessing to the crowd in St Peter's Square.
BBC reports:
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the Roman Catholic Church's new Pope.
The first Latin American to be Pope, he will call himself Francis I.
First Jesuit pope and the first to take the name of Francis. Plus, of course, first Latin American pope.
Francis is an interesting name choice. Presumably a reference to St Francis of Assisi, who was known as a missionary and for an attempted rapproachement to the Islamic world. Also, of course, St Francis and the Franciscans treat personal and institutional poverty as a holy calling. May we infer that his emphasis will be on evangelism, dealing with the Islamic world, and cleaning up the financial and spiritual messes in the Vatican?
