Metro

First Jesuit an ‘inspired choice’

A NEW AGE: iPhones and iPads replace the centuries-old tradition of candles at the Vatican yesterday.

A NEW AGE: iPhones and iPads replace the centuries-old tradition of candles at the Vatican yesterday. (AP)

A NEW AGE: iPhones and iPads replace the centuries-old tradition of candles at the Vatican yesterday. (
)

The curtains on the Vatican balcony had barely been pulled open to introduce Pope Francis when the praise began rolling in from around the world.

The faithful packed St. Peter’s Square, crying and cheering wildly for Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, as he broke Europe’s longtime stranglehold on the Catholic Church’s most holy office.

“It’s a genius move,” papal biographer and Vatican watcher Marco Politi told The Washington Post of the choice of Bergoglio. “It’s a non-Italian, non-European, not a man of the Roman government. It’s an opening to the Third World, a moderate.”

The South American pontiff, 76, was elected pope in just five rounds of voting, one of the quickest conclaves in recent history, indicating the trust his fellow cardinals had in his leadership abilities, Catholic experts said.

“I wasn’t expecting it, but I’m absolutely delighted. It’s a very unique moment,” said John Mcginley, a Glasgow priest who traveled to see the historic event. “There is a great sense of unity here.”

Several cardinals who participated in the conclave called the humble Bergoglio an “inspired” choice.

Bergoglio, the first-ever Jesuit pope, was widely hailed yesterday for his simplicity and humility in his first address from the Vatican balcony, asking the crowd to pray for him and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI before offering his own prayer for the masses.

“He’s very humble, by all accounts. He lives in a humble apartment, cooks his own meals, takes public transportation to work,” said Charles Camosy, a Christian-ethics professor at Jesuit-run Fordham University in the Bronx.

“Jesuits are definitely known as reaching out to the world, speaking the language of the people. “

Bergoglio is the first pope ever to use the name Francis, which represents “service.”

“By taking the name Francis, it means a completely new beginning,” Politi said.

New York’s Timothy Cardinal Dolan called Bergoglio’s selection an “inspired choice.”

President Obama also had high praise for Borgoglio, noting, “As a champion of the poor and the most vulnerable among us, he carries forth the message of love and compassion.”

“As the first pope from the Americas, his selection also speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world,” Obama said in a statement.

Vice President Joe Biden, an observant Catholic, will head the US delegation to Pope Francis’ installment in Rome next week, a White House official said.

In Bergoglio’s homeland, Argentine President Christine Fernandez de Kirchner wished him “a fruitful pastoral task,” while British Prime Minister David Cameron called the picking of a South American as pope “a momentous day.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel “wholeheartedly” applauded the new pontiff, noting, “Millions of faithful in Germany and in the whole world have waited for this moment.

“I am especially happy for the Christians of Latin America, from where, for the first time, one of their own was called to the head of the Catholic Church.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LAUREL BABCOCK and POST WIRE SERVICES