Shortly after being elected, Pope Francis makes his debut before a big crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to greet him.
(REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi)Newly elected Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina leaves after praying at the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome, March 14, 2013
Pope Francis bows and then asks his brothers to pray and bless him. "Before the bishop blesses his people, he asks that you pray to the Lord to bless me," he said.
(REUTERS/Osservatore Romano)Newly elected Pope Francis I, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after being elected by the conclave of cardinals, in a photograph released by Osservatore Romano at the Vatican, March 13, 2013.
(Photo: Alessandro Bianchi)Newly elected Pope Francis (2nd L) appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after being elected by the conclave of cardinals, at the Vatican, March 13, 2013.
During Mass at the Sistine Chapel, the pope urged the Church to be "disciples of the Lord" by preaching the name of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.
(Photo: Reuters / Osservatore Romano)Newly elected Pope Francis I, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, leads a a mass with cardinals at the Sistine Chapel, in a picture released by Osservatore Romano at the Vatican March 14, 2013.
The last time they were all together was casting votes for the new pope in the Sistine Chapel. Now, they were all able to meet Pope Francis in his first meeting with cardinals.
(Photo: Reuters / Osservatore Romano)Newly elected Pope Francis I (L), Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, greets Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the dean of the College of Cardinals, in the Clementine Hall in a picture released by Osservatore Romano at the Vatican March 15, 2013.
For his first outing after the election, Pope Francis visits the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
(Photo: Reuters / Osservatore Roma)Newly elected Pope Francis I (2nd R), Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, walks in the 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore during a private visit in Rome March 14, 2013. Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility. REUTERS/Osservatore Roma
He explains why he chose the name Francis, saying a cardinal told him to not forget the poor.
(Photo: Reuters / Paul Hanna)Pope Francis sits before 5,000 reporters at Paul VI hall at the Vatican on March 16, 2013. During the conference, he explained why he chose the papal name after St. Francis of Assisi.
Pope Francis is the first pontiff to take a papal name after St. Francis of Assisi - a rich man who gave away his wealth and went to work for the poor and animals.
(Photo: Reuters / Enrique Garcia Medina)Then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina washes the feet of patients of the Hogar de Cristo shelter for drug users, during a Holy Thursday mass in the Parque Patricios neighborhood of Buenos Aires, March 20, 2008. Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, who has become the first pope born outside Europe in 1,300 years, quietly left the Vatican early on March 14, 2013, barely 12 hours after his election to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility. Picture taken March 20, 2008.
Pope Francis is a son of Italian immigrants to Argentina. The election of a Latin American pope is significant since 40 percent of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics are in the region.
(Photo: Reuters / Marcos Brindicci)Archbishop of Buenos Aires Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio greets worshippers during the annual gathering and pilgrimage to the church dedicated to San Cayetano (Saint Cajetan), the patron saint of labor and bread, in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Liniers, August 7, 2009. Pilgrims have been camping outside the parish for weeks, waiting to join the thousands that gathered at the church to pray for work.
