New Pope!

Today the Catholic Church once again has a Pope! The conclave finished voting (see image of white smoke below; white smoke is a confirmation of more than two-thirds majority whereas the previous votes went up in black smoke to indicate that we were still without a spiritual leader here on Earth)

After Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope (he will never again be addressed as such, only addressed by his new name -- for those who are not aware every new Pope chooses their name and his is significant!).... Here is an image from the first public appearance of Pope Francis I

 (Sorry, am not positive who the two individuals standing behind him are)

Found this online as well and while a fake baseball card is amusing it also is a cute "cheat sheet" of facts about the new Pope! Two of the most important facts are that he is the first Pope from South America and that he is also the first Jesuit (the Jesuit priests are a particular order) Pope! Two wonderful firsts! Have to wait and see how his life as Pope will play out -- however he has an amazingly down-to-earth manner apparently. Some examples repeated often about this former cardinal is that he cooked some of his own meals, chose to live in a small and simple location instead of the lavish/larger options, and HE TOOK PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION REGULARLY TO VISIT "BAD" AREAS OF TOWNS TO HELP HOW AND WHERE HE COULD.  Safe, blessed, what an example of living life simply -- hence "Francis" is the perfect (and first time ever chosen) new name of our Pope.

Prayers, positive hopes, and ::HUGS:: to all