Robert Francis Presses was chosen for the 267th Pope on Thursday to 133 Cardinals to steer the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. The primary pope of the USA, he selected the identify Leo XIV.
This is what you already know concerning the new pope, how he was chosen and the issues he would face as a inheritor to Pope Francis who died last month At 88.
Who’s the brand new pope?
Robert Francis Presses, 69, was born in Chicago and served for twenty years in Peru, the place he grew to become a bishop and a naturalized citizen, after which he rose to steer his worldwide non secular order. Till the demise of his predecessor, Pope Francis, he held one of the crucial influential posts of the Vatican, managing the workplace that elected and ruled the bishops globally.
A member of the Order of St. Augustine, he appears like Francis in his dedication to the poor and migrants and to a gathering with the folks the place they’re. He informed the Vatican’s official web site final yr that “the bishop shouldn’t be a small prince sitting in his kingdom.”
He has spent a lot of his life exterior the USA. Appointed in 1982 on the age of 27, he obtained a PhD in Canon Legislation on the College of St. Thomas Aquinski in Rome. In Peru he was a missionary, parish priest, trainer and bishop. Because the chief of the Augustine, he visited orders around the globe. He additionally speaks Spanish and Italian.
Who selected the brand new pope?
Francis’ inheritor has been chosen in Conclave It began on Could 7. Cardinals, referred to as the “Prince of the Church”, are ranked just below the Pope within the Roman Catholic Church; Collectively they’re referred to as Cardinals CollegeS There are presently 252 cardinals. Solely these underneath the age of 80 have the proper to vote and there are 135 of them, the biggest quantity within the historical past of the church. Pope Francis has appointed about 80 p.c of them.
When the pope dies or retreats – which is uncommon – the school chooses an inheritor. Cardinals give repeated votes whereas there’s a two -thirds majority. After every vote, the ballots are burned in a range, together with a colour that produces colour. The smoke is launched by means of a chimney, which might be seen from the sq. of St. Peter, the place the crowds often collect to look at and wait. If the vote ends with out a majority of two -thirds, the smoke is black. When a call is made, The smoke is whiteS
How lengthy does it take to decide on a brand new pope?
The size of papal conclavi varies enormously over the centuries. Since 1900, that is the fifth pope, who will probably be chosen in two days.
The longest conclave throughout this time took 14 newsletters, lasted 5 days and produced Pope Pius XI in 1922. Francis was chosen as elected After two days of votingS
The shortest conclave, the selection of Pope Pius XII in 1939, took three ballots. Nevertheless it was not all the time so quick: the conclave, which ended with the election of Pope Gregory X on September 1, 1271, took two years, 9 months and two days.
What are the primary issues within the Catholic Church?
The Cardinals needed to resolve whether or not to decide on a pope who would observe the trail of openness and inclusion of Francis or select a pontiff that may construct one other. Throughout his 12-year-old pontiff, Francis made exceptional declarations that encourage liberals, together with permitting folks’s blessing in same-sex unions and elevating his voice for migrants.
Cardinals who select the pope typically appear to be ideologically So many secular voters around the globe. Many conservative Roman Catholic leaders disagreed with Francis.
However the typical divisions between the progressives and the conservatives don’t correspond so nicely to the ideological battles within the Vatican and the broader church. There are complicated debates concerning the function of girls and LGBTQ Catholics within the Church, whether or not clergymen needs to be allowed to marry, accountability of sexual abuse from the clergy and different separation points.
