After two days, white smoke from the Sistine Chapel signaled the end of the search for a new pope.
On Wednesday, members of the College of Cardinals selected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to be the 266th pontiff and lead the Roman Catholic Church under his new name, Pope Francis I.
Thousands of people packed into St. Peter’s Square to see Pope Francis address the world for the first time.
Rebecca Drescher, a 20-year-old UF English junior who is studying abroad in Rome, said she had to act fast to make it through the sea of waving flags and umbrellas to capture pictures of the historical moment.
“It stopped raining when the pope came out,” she said. “He addressed the Roman people and everyone cheered ‘Francesco!’ over and over. Everyone was extremely emotional and excited. It was the coolest thing, being a part of history.”
Francis is the first cardinal from the Americas to be elected pope and the first non-European to lead the church in at least 1,200 years. He succeeds Benedict XVI, the pope emeritus, who announced his resignation last month.
In Gainesville, Manuel Vasquez, professor and chairman of the UF College of Religion, said the election acted as a shift in the Catholic world.
“It’s a recognition that most growth is in the south, particularly in Africa, South America and Asia,” he said.
Francis is also the first pope from the Jesuit order.
Despite Francis’ age, Vasquez said he expects the new pope to lean toward reform.
“[The Jesuits] have a long history of being innovators in the church,” Vasquez added. “And along with that comes controversy also.”
Gonzalo Girado, a 22-year-old UF mechanical engineering senior and president of the Argentine Student Association, said he was proud an Argentine was selected pope.
“It shows the church is more diverse and how Latin American society as a whole is making a movement,” he said.
Luke DeHon, a 20-year-old UF economics junior and Catholic Gators member, said he will support Pope Francis because of his views and his alignment with church doctrine.
“[Francis] teaches what Christ taught, and he reflects a lot of what youth want, including a strong foundation,” DeHon said.
Pope Francis I waves from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Wednesday. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who chose the papal name of Francis, is the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
