The 76-year-old has taken the papal name Francisco, and will be known as Pope Francis I
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio has been elected as the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic church.
The 76-year-old has taken the papal name Francisco, and will be known as Pope Francis I.
Here are 10 things you need to know about the new pontiff.
1. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Aregntina.
2. The son of an Italian immigrant and railway worker, he is the first non-European and first Jesuit pope.
3. He has spent nearly his entire career at home in Argentina, overseeing churches and priests. His outspoken criticism of president Cristina Fernandez couldn't prevent Argentina from becoming the Latin American country to legalise gay marriage, or stop Fernandez from promoting free contraception and artificial insemination.
4. He studied philosophy at the Colegio Máximo San José and went on to teach literature and psychology at the Colegio de la Inmaculada in Santa Fe, and the Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires.
5. Cardinal Bergoglio was ordained to the priesthood on December 13, 1969 by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano
6. He had a lung removed when he was a teenager due to an infection.
7. Cardinal Bergoglio participated in the 2005 papal conclave which elected Pope Benedict XVI following the death of Pope John Paul II. He came close to becoming pope last time, gaining the second-highest vote total in several rounds of voting before he bowed out of the running in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.
8. He has served as the Bishop of Buenos Aires since 1998 and became a cardinal in 2001. Bergoglio is also known for modernising an Argentine church that had been among the most conservative in Latin America.
9. Cardinal Bergoglio firmly opposed abortion and euthanasia. He also adheres to the Roman Catholic teachings regarding homosexuality but teaches the importance of respecting individuals who are homosexual.
10. The Cardinal has a reputation for humility. His personal style is the antithesis of Vatican splendour, living in a small apartment instead of a grander bishop's residence. He often rode the bus to work, cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina's capital.
