In a speech filled with humility and a touch of self-deprecation, Pope Francis greeted a crowd estimated at more than 100,000 in St. Peter's Square by thanking his predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI for his service to the Church and seeking a favor of the faithful to "ask God to bless me."
The new pontiff, who was considered a long-shot candidate leading up to today's conclave, said his fellow cardinals "went to the other side of the world" to select a new pope.
"Let's begin this journey, bishop and people, a journey of brotherhood, love and trust among us," he said from the Vatican balcony.
The former archbishop of Buenos Aires was born on 17 December 1936 and ordained as a Jesuit in 1969. He succeeded Cardinal Antonio Quarracino as archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998.
His pastoral leadership in Argentina was been marked by a practical and unostentatious approach. He favored taking the bus instead of private cars and regularly visited the poor, who knew him familiarly as "Father Jorge".