Description
On March 13, 2013 at 7:40 PM local time, white smoke wafted over St. Peter s Square in Vatican City. After 5 votes and almost 26 hours of deliberations, a new Pope had been elected. Spiritual leader to the world s 1.2 billion Catholics, the Argentinean Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio announced that he would take the name Francis. The first Pope to bear the name, he was also the first Pope from Latin America, and the first Jesuit elected to the Holy See. Within days Pope Francis had made it clear that his would be a very different Papacy. Eschewing the traditional luxuries and privileges of the Holy See, he declared that his mandate as Pope would be to serve the poor and the disenfranchised. Who is this man committed to changing the Catholic Church in the 21st century? Where did he come from? What was his record as the Cardinal of Buenos Aires? What will be his most important challenge and who will emerge as his principle opponents? How will this humble, austere man change the Vatican, one of the wealthiest states on Earth? This fascinating program is the first detailed biography of Catholicism's new spiritual leader, Pope Francis.