The new Argentine pope, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in his first appearance at the Vatican balcony appealed to Christian faithful to pray for him as he assumes the new task of Christian leadership.
"Before I pray for you, I want you to pray for me", the pope said as he gave his first address in the Vatican balcony in front of a large a large cheering crowd.
Pope Francis, as he has chosen to be called, is the Catholic Church's first non-European pope in hundreds of years—and the first from the Americas. The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, the church's first Jesuit pope, faces the daunting task of healing divisions in the church hierarchy and stemming the loss of worshipers while tending to 1.2 billion faithful.
The new pope brings ample pastoral experience in Argentina to the job, but it is unclear how much influence he has in the Roman Curia, the administrative body of the Vatican. Pope Francis hasn't held a senior position in the Curia.
The 76-year-old pope was elected by 115 cardinals on the second day of voting. The church's 266th pontiff succeeds Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned for health reasons in February.
Wishing the pope all the best.
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