Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina elected pope
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina is elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the troubled Roman Catholic Church, and says he will take the name Francis I.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope on Wednesday (March 13) to lead the Roman Catholic Church, a prelate announced to huge crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square.

He took the name Pope Francis, the cardinal said.

Cardinals elected Bergoglio on just the second day of a secret conclave to find a successor to Pope Benedict, who abdicated unexpectedly last month.

Francis becomes the 266th pontiff in the Church's 2,000-year history at a time of great crisis and difficulty. Although a conservative, he is seen as a reformer and was not among the small group of frontrunners identified before the election.

He also went against one of the main assumptions before the election, that the new pope would be relatively young.

He is the oldest of most of the possible candidates and was barely mentioned in feverish speculation about the top contenders before the conclave.

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