Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires has been chosen by his fellow Cardinals to become Pope, and has taken the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi. He is the first Pope born in the Americas, the first Jesuit Pope, and the third consecutive Pope to be born outside of Italy. Even so, he has strong connections to Italy, being the son of immigrants from the area around Turin. He was chosen on the third ballot, one fewer than his immediate predecessor, the now-retired Pope Benedict XVI.
Earlier during the day, the Sistine Chapel's chimney, through which white or black smoke is emitted, white smoke indicating a decisive ballot, was visited by a seagull. This resulted in the creation of several Twitter accounts.
Read more about Pope Francis at NBC News, CBS News, the Guardian, Reuters, Politico and Yahoo News.
Frances is a good, humble man. He is a breath of fresh air after a decade of Benedict.
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