WHO IS JORGE MARIO BERGOGLIO?

The official biography of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J.

 

Cardinal Jorge M. Bergoglio SJ, Archbishop of Buenos Aires,

 

Coat of Arms of Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Vatican City, 13 March 2013 (VIS) –

 

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ordinary for Eastern-rite faithful in Argentina who lack an Ordinary of their own rite, was born on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires. He studied as and holds a degree as a chemical technician, but then chose the priesthood and entered the seminary of Villa Devoto. On 11 March 1958 he moved to the novitiate of the Company of Jesus where he finished studies in the humanities in Chile. In 1963, on returning to Buenos Aires, he obtained a degree in philosophy at the St. Joseph major seminary of San Miguel.

 

Between 1964 and 1965 he taught literature and psychology at the Immacolata College in Santa Fe and then in 1966 he taught the same subjects at the University of El Salvador, in Buenos Aires.

 

From 1967 to 1970 he studied theology at the St. Joseph major seminary of San Miguel where he obtained a degree. On 13 December 1969 he was ordained a priest. From 1970 to 1971 he completed the third probation at Alcala de Henares, Spain, and on 22 April 1973, pronounced his perpetual vows.

 

He was novice master at Villa Varilari in San Miguel from 1972 to 1973, where he also taught theology. On 31 July 1973 he was elected as Provincial for Argentina, a role he served as for six years.

 

From 1980 to 1986 he was rector of the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel as well as pastor of the Patriarca San Jose parish in the Diocese of San Miguel. In March of 1986 he went to Germany to finish his doctoral thesis. The superiors then sent him to the University of El Salvador and then to Cordoba where he served as a confessor and spiritual director.

 

On 20 May 1992, John Paul II appointed him titular Bishop of Auca and Auxiliary of Buenos Aires, He received episcopal consecration in the Cathedral of Buenos Aires from Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, Apostolic Nunzio Ubaldo Calabresi, and Bishop Emilio Ognenovich. of Mercedes-Lujan on 27 June of that year.

 

On 3 June 1997 he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Buenos Aires and succeeded Cardinal Antonio Quarracino on 28 February 1998.

 

He was Adjunct Relator General of the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, October 2001.

 

He served as President of the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina from 8 November 2005 until 8 November 2011.

 

He was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Blessed John Paul II in the consistory of 21 February 2001, of the Title of S. Roberto Bellarmino (St. Robert Bellarmine).

 

He was a member of:

 

The Congregations for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments; for the Clergy; and for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life;

 

the Pontifical Council for the Family; and

 

the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

 

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Cardinals elect Pope Francis, Argentinean Jesuit Jorge Mario Bergoglio

• 
  Pope Francis appears for the first time Wednesday on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
• Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected the 266th Roman Catholic pontiff. (CNS/Paul Haring)

Joshua J. McElwee  |  Mar. 13, 2013

Conclave 2013

Vatican City

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, an Argentinean Jesuit who is the first in his order and the first from Latin America to hold the see of Peter, has been elected the 266th bishop of Rome and leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.

Appearing on a balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica about an hour and 10 minutes after white smoke from a chimney above the Sistine Chapel first signaled his election, Bergoglio was introduced by his birth name with the traditional proclamation of the Latin phrase “Habemus papam,” “We have a pope.”

Then came pronouncement of the choice of his papal name: Francis.

He is the first pontiff to choose the name, likely for either the 12th-century St. Francis of Assisi, known for his simple lifestyle and dedication to the works of mercy, or for St. Francis Xavier, a 16th-century Spanish Jesuit priest known for his efforts to evangelize, particularly in Asia.

Bergoglio’s election came on the fifth ballot and second day of voting among the 115 cardinals who participated in the secret election. It was a surprisingly quick conclusion to a conclave that seemed to have no clear front-runner emerging among the cardinals.

At age 76, Bergoglio is only two years younger than Joseph Ratzinger was when he was elected Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005.

Bergoglio’s, now Pope Francis’, first words to a cheering crowd in an overflowing St. Peter’s Square were “Buonasera,” Italian for “Good evening.”

“You know the task of the conclave was to give Rome a bishop,” the new pope continued, speaking Italian with a slight Spanish accent. “My brothers went to the end of the earth to get him.”

Francis then asked the crowd to join him in praying “for our emeritus bishop, Benedict XVI.” Following the “Ave Maria,” “Our Father” and “Glory Be” prayers in Italian, the Argentinean then continued: “Now, let’s start working together, walking together in the church of Rome, which is the first among churches. This is part of the governance of love, of trust.”

“Let us pray for each other, let us pray for the entire world because there is great brotherhood in the world,” Francis continued. “I hope the path that I am about to take now and my father will help me to be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city.”

Before giving the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing to those in the crowd, overwhelmingly Italian, the Argentinean asked “for a favor.”

“Please ask God to bless me,” he said, bowing his head and clasping his hands. A 15-second silence lasted in the reported 100,000-person crowd.

“Brothers and sisters, thanks for the welcome,” Francis said, before heading back into the basilica. “Tomorrow I will pray that Mary safeguard Rome. Good night. Good rest.”

Widely reported to be the second-place candidate after Raztinger in the conclave held after the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, Bergoglio is known for a simple lifestyle and for dedication to social justice.

After becoming archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, he moved out of the traditional archbishop’s palace, preferring instead to live in an apartment. He is also known to cook his own meals, and does not use the services of a chauffeur, instead riding the bus.

Worldwide reaction to Bergoglio’s election, thought also to be the first of a man from the southern hemisphere, was immediate.

“Perhaps for the first time in modern times, the global outlook of the church is reflected at the highest level of the church,” said Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, a fellow Jesuit who leads the order’s Eastern African province, told NCR in an email.

“I want to believe that considering the humble and down-to-earth background of Pope Francis I the church is in capable hands — not just the pope’s alone, but the hands of the entire people of God across the globe,” Orobator, who is also a noted moral theologian, continued.

“Francis’s first gesture of asking the people to pray to God for him may signal the beginning of a more authentic and humble recognition of the priesthood of the people of God and the responsibility we all bear for the church of God in the world.”

People had gathered in St. Peter’s Square in sometimes pouring rain throughout the evening Wednesday, keeping their eyes trained on two screens showing images of the Sistine Chapel’s chimney for the sign of smoke.

As a moment of uncertainly about the color of the smoke — black for no consensus on the pope, white for his election — gave way with the loud ringing of the Basilica’s bell to confirm the news, sustained cheering broke out among those gathered.

Within moments, people were running through puddles and rain, trying to make it to the square for announcement of the new pontiff.

Vatican gendarmes were stationed around the square’s iconic colonnades, directing people to specific gates in order to control the flow of the crowd. Inside an hour, people had filled about a half-block of the street leading into the square.

As the waiting for the new pope continued, screams of “Viva il papa,” Italian for “Long live the pope,” echoed every few minutes. Many waved national flags under their umbrellas.

[Joshua J. McElwee is an NCR staff writer. His email address is jmcelwee@ncronline.org. His is tweeting live from the Vatican at twitter.com/joshjmac. NCR senior correspondent John L. Allen Jr and Catholic News Service contributed to this report.]

Blog : http://www.parchment9.wordpress.com

 

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