Benedict XVI voluntarily gave up his position as Pope on February 28, 2013; he was the fourth to have done so in history. After his resignation, Pope Francis was chosen to be the new Pope and reportedly received the second-most votes in the papal election. His original name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, and was the archbishop of Buenos Aires. He is the first non-European Pope in centuries and is perceived by the people as a ‘down to Earth’ pope for his humble nature and modest lifestyle.

Junior Carlos Ramirez expressed, “As a Hispanic of the Christian faith, I think its awesome the new pope is form Argentina […] His name and story says a lot about him as well, and he seems to be a humble man.”

Instead of going by his perceived nature and culture, others base his character on rising to the occasion when Pope Benedict resigned.

An anonymous junior said, “[…] As far as I’m concerned any new pope that takes his place is showing a lot of faith and bravery in helping resolve the issues that forced [Pope] Benedict out of the Vatican just by starting a new regime.”

Even though it is early within his reign, the new Pope has created quite a controversy with his beliefs and actions. Many believe that Pope Francis will provide a twist on the traditional views in the Church; one example would be when he decided to bathe the feet of two women and led many to be concerned with women going into priesthood.

Sophomore Bree Closs felt, “I think the new pope seems like a very humble person and he’ll have some good things to off for the Catholic Church. Let’s see what happens!”

It is too early in his reign to make a judgment on how his legacy will continue, but so far it seems like Pope Francis will be one Pope to remember.