Habemus Papem...Pope Francis I

What an exciting week for Catholics and Christians throughout the world!  We have a new Pope!  Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years on Wednesday.  I was relieved to hear that he is widely considered to be "a conservative with great compassion."  He chose the name "Francis" in honor of the humble Catholic friar St. Francis of Assisi, which I also thought was a good sign that he will lead the church with humility, courage, and love.

In all honesty, I have to admit that I was a bit concerned when I first heard that our new Pope was from the Jesuit Order.  I know the Jesuit Order was founded by holy, courageous, orthodox priests (St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, and a few others) in the 1500s who were faithful to the teachings of the Church, but I have also personally experienced how some priests in the Jesuit Order have strayed into more liberal beliefs in recent decades.  The Jesuit college that I attended, called Creighton University, was filled with liberal theology that was certainly not in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church, and I had to work very hard in my religion classes to weed out the unorthodox teachings.  Thankfully, my parents and my Catholic High School had laid a solid foundation of the true faith in my soul, so even though my faith was challenged in college, I feel like I emerged an even stronger Catholic when I graduated.  Sadly, however, my college experience left a bad taste in my soul for Jesuits, so I when the media announced that Pope Francis was a Jesuit I had a brief period of panic until I learned from some solid Catholic sources that Pope Francis was one of the Jesuits who still fully embrace the teachings of Christ and His Bride, the holy Catholic Church.

I was surprised how moved I was to watch him come through the balcony doors to be revealed as the new Pope.  I was further touched by how gently and warmly he greeted the crowd in Vatican Square, asking them to first pray for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and then asking them to pray for himself during a few moments of silence.  What a beautiful sign of humility!  May the Holy Spirit guide him in shepherding our Church, and may Catholics be re-inspired to embrace their faith, to embrace their Savior Jesus Christ, in a deeper way during this new era in our Church.