Joy feelings magazine September 2019 Issue | Page 113

from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the
8th century.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio was ordained a Catholic
priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 was Argentina's provincial
superior of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He became the Archbishop of
Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John
Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots
in Argentina. The administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina
Fernández de Kirchner considered him a political rival. Following the
resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal
conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose
Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.