White smoke wafted out from the chimney in Sistine Chapel at exactly 6:06 P.M. on March 13, signifying that the Catholic Church has chosen its 266th pope.

Around an hour later, 76-year-old Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, assuming the name Pope Francis I, appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica dressed in the white papal robes and asked the massive crowd gathered on St. Peter’s Square to pray for him as he leads the 1.2 billion Roman Catholics around the world.

Pope Francis, who was not among the frontrunners in the papal race, made history as the first Latin American and the first Jesuit pontiff, as well as the first non-European to be elected to the position in nearly 1,300 years. Reuters.com reports that the new pope is known for his concern for the poor, just like his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, who lived a life of poverty and austerity. He had led a simple life in Argentina despite the lofty position he held, traveling by public transport and living in a humble apartment in Buenos Aires.

Though very conservative in his beliefs about homosexuality, Pope Francis is still expected to reform the church by steering it toward a simpler direction that focuses on evangelization and by making it less centered on Europe alone. The many controversies the church faced in the recent years will also come as a challenge for the new pontiff.

Pope Francis’s inaugural mass will be held on March 19.

(Photo by Catholic Church England and Wales via Flickr Creative Commons)