Meet the new pope: Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio

Bergoglio, who has taken the name Francis I, is the first Latin American to hold the post

Pope Francis
(Image credit: REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian)

A gathering of Catholic cardinals on Wednesday elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio to become the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Bergoglio, who has taken the name Pope Francis I, will succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who abruptly stepped down in February due to health concerns.

Francis is a 76-year-old Argentinean who was formerly the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He is the first Latin American, as well as the first Jesuit, to become pope. Many had called on the church to elect a non-European, reflecting Catholicism's enduring strength in Latin America, the most populous Catholic region in the world, and Africa, where Catholicism is fast-growing.

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Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.