Meet the New Pope: Jorge Bergoglio named as successor to Pope Benedict XVI

USA Today provides a short, succinct bio of the newly elected pope:

Born: Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Education: Studied at Theological Faculty of San Miguel. Received licentiate in philosophy.

Ordination: Jesuits on Dec. 13, 1969.

Languages: Besides his native Spanish, Bergoglio also speaks Italian and German.

Interesting Facts/Comments:

Ordained titular bishop of Auca and auxiliary of Buenos Aires on June 27, 1992.

Became archbishop of Buenos Aires on Feb. 28, 1998.

Received title ordinary for the Eastern-rite faithful in Argentina who lack an ordinary in their own rite on Nov. 30, 1998.

Proclaimed cardinal by Pope John Paul II on Feb. 21, 2001.

Participated in conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.

Served as president of the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina from November 2005 to November 2011.

Reportedly received the second-most votes after Joseph Ratzinger in the 2005 papal election.

Despite being Argentina’s top church official, Bergoglio never lived in the ornate church mansion in Buenos Aires, preferring a simple bed in a downtown room heated by a small stove. For years, he took public transportation around the city and cooked his own meals.

Had a lung removed due to infection when he was a teenager.

Couldn’t prevent Argentina from becoming the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage or stop its president, Cristina Fernandez, from promoting free contraception and artificial insemination. When Bergoglio argued that gay adoptions discriminate against children, Fernandez compared his tone to “medieval times and the Inquisition.”

Critics accuse him of failing to stand up publicly against the country’s military dictatorship from 1976-1983, when victims and their relatives often brought first-hand accounts of torture, death and kidnappings.

No Jesuit priest has ever served as pontiff.