Habemus Papam: we have a Pope, the cardinals announced via white smoke pouring from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. The world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, and the population of the world at large, waited expectantly for the new Roman Pontiff to appear on the balcony of St. Peter’s.
Few observers in the days leading up to the Conclave were talking about Jorge Bergoglio. There were other, more popular candidates, including the cardinals from Nigeria, Brazil, the Philippines, the United States and, of course, Italy. The quiet, humble Argentinean archbishop was considered to have reached his zenith and begun to fade.
And yet there he stood on Wednesday, taking the name Francis I. This name was perhaps as surprising as the choice of Bergoglio, since no pope has ever taken the name Francis. The most famous Christian by the name was Francis of Assisi, and for various reasons no pope has wanted to be compared with Francis of Assisi until today.
Commentators are still wondering what this means for the direction of the Catholic Church. Bergoglio is famous in Argentina for riding public transportation instead of an episcopal limousine. He also decided to settle in a small apartment and cook his own meals, instead of living in the massive arch-episcopal palace and hiring staff.
When Francis was Provincial of the Jesuit Order in Argentina, he redirected Jesuit clergy away from liberation-theology-style political involvement and into parish work. Nevertheless, he is also widely lauded for his efforts in social justice and poverty relief. He is considered theologically conservative, especially on issues such as gay marriage and abortion.
Francis I is the first non-European pope since 741 and the first ever from the Western Hemisphere. He is the son of an Italian railway worker, making him of European descent but raised in Argentina. Approximately 40% of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America.
Francis takes over the Papacy at a time of deep uncertainty in the Catholic Church. The English-speaking Catholic world has been rocked by multiple child sex abuse scandals in Scotland, Ireland and the United States. The European Catholic Church is facing declining membership, while the church in the Global South is rapidly expanding.
There are also internal Vatican issues he will have to face as a relative outsider to the Roman Curia. In the past few years, the Papal Butler has been on trial for leaking Vatican secrets. A subsequent Vatican investigation uncovered an alleged blackmailing scheme involving possibly homosexual cardinals and factional infighting within the Vatican. Pope Benedict is also supposed to have decided to retire upon reading the report of this investigation.
Pope Benedict XVI, whose retirement prompted the conclave that elected Francis I, appointed Ernst von Freyberg to lead the Vatican Bank on the day of his retirement. The Vatican Bank has been under scrutiny by the EU since it uses the Euro but is habitually secretive. There have been allegations of financial impropriety and bribery under Benedict’s leadership.
The new pope will be formally installed in St. Peter’s Basilica on March 19.