light of Christ to the people of our continent during his historic pontificate.”

“Supreme Knight Carl Anderson and the 1.8 million members of the Knights of Columbus extend cordial best wishes and prayers to our newly elected pope.”

Pope Francis, who was previously known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected on the fifth ballot, and was Archbishop of Buenos Aires prior to his election as Bishop of Rome. He is a member of the Society of Jesus, and is the first Pope to have been elected from that order, as well as the first Latin American Pope.

He greeted the crowds of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square shortly after 8:00 p.m., after spending time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the Pauline Chapel.

Pope Francis will be inaugurated on March19, the Feast of St. Joseph, at 9:30 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square.

Denver, Colo., Mar 14, 2013 (CNA/EWTN News) -
A Jesuit priest expressed delight at the election of Pope Francis, who is a member of the Society of Jesus, highlighting that the group was founded to serve Christ's Church.

“The whole Jesuit charism is to be at the service of the hierarchical Church,” Father Raymond Gawronski, a priest of the Maryland province of the Society of Jesus, told CNA March 13.

“We are at the service of the Church; wherever God wants to place us to serve the Church, apparently including the Papacy, that's where we're supposed to go,” he added.

“It seems to be God's will that at this point the Jesuit charism come to the center of the Church,