In what is one the few truly global spectacles, billions of people, non-Catholic and Catholic alike, tuned into Wednesday’s news coverage of the new Pope. A little over an hour after seeing white smoke billowing out of the small chimney above the Sistine Chapel, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio emerged on balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Immediately after a papal election, the elected cardinal is asked what name he shall be called from now on. Cardinal Bergoglio chose to be called Pope Francis (Francesco in Italian). I think the name Francis is fantastic choice for a few reasons.