Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ, 76, of Argentina is Pope Francis I

VATICAN CITY
GMA News

The Catholic Church has a new Vicar of Christ: Pope Francis I

Cardinal Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio SJ, 77, of Argentina was elected as Supreme Pontiff of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, the Vatican announced Thursday.

White smoke emerged at 2:05 a.m. PHL time from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, where 115 cardinals gathered to elect a new pope Tuesday.

Pope Francis I succeeds Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned on February 28 amid daunting problems facing the Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history.

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