The ten years of Pope Francis: the white smoke and the day Jorge Bergoglio became Supreme Pontiff

Pope Francis celebrates 10 years at the head of the Catholic Church. On March 13, 2013 there was white smoke from the conclave which defined the name of the new Dad.

That day, at 19:06 local time (15:06 in Argentina), the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica, together with thick white smoke, announced to the world, and especially to Catholics, that they had a new leader. An hour later they revealed his name and nationality: the Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina.

It took the cardinal electors nearly as long as they did in 2005 when they elected Joseph Ratzinger. Then the resignation of Benedict XVI He opened the doors to the new conclave of the 21st century and in that context the Argentine was chosen.

The same ceremony had been repeated for centuries: the chimney of the Sistine Chapel announced, with white smoke, that the cardinals had chosen the new pontiff.

The name and nationality of the cardinal-elect and the name he chose as Dad They met after the famous phrase: “Habemus Papam”(Twe have dad), from the balcony of the Basilica of Saint Peter. Thus, as of March 13, 2013, Bergoglio was officially the head of the more than 1.2 billion faithful who profess Catholicism.

The assumption ceremony was massive and the March 19 of that year, in the Plaza de San Pedrowhere Francisco received the ring and the pallium, and was characterized by simplicity.

Bergoglio began his functions with his living predecessor: Benedict XVI, Who he had resigned from his post on February 28. Undoubtedly the assumption of Pope Francis marked the beginning of a new life for the Catholic Church, affected by cases of pedophilia all over the world.

He also had to deal with the “VatiLeaks”, the leak of confidential documents of the pontiff which ended up uncovering a plot of abuse of power in the central government of the Vatican. Added to this is the fall of the influence of the Church, the evangelical advance in its various aspects and the questions on the role of women that the Church still manifests.

Open questions and controversies despite the “change of air” of a Catholic Church that is still trying to renew itself at the hands of Francisco, the Argentine pope.