Just before 5am AEDT, or 7pm in Rome, white smoke was seen coming from the chimney in St Peter’s Square. Our new pope: Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina: now Pope Francis!
He commented that his brother cardinals had seemingly looked to the ends of the earth to find him in Argentina, and asked those gathered in St Peter’s Square to join in prayer for our Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.
“And now let us begin this journey,” he said.
“The Bishop and the people, this journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood. My hope is that this journey of the Church that we begin today, together with the help of my Cardinal Vicar, may be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city.”
Before offering his Papal blessing, he very humbly, true to his chosen name, asked for the prayers of those gathered.
As he bid farewell to the crowd, he told them he would wake early to go to the Blessed Virgin and ask her to protect Rome.
Pope Francis I will be inaugurated in Rome on the Feast of St Joseph, 9am local time.
We caught up with Sydney’s Bishop Julian Porteous to get his thoughts on the election of Pope Francis.
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