Sunday marked the first Sunday Mass since the election of the new pope, Francis I. Cathedrals all over the world are buzzing about the new papacy and sending blessings his way.

On March 13, Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, a community estimated at 1.2 billion of the world’s population.

(Josh Shettler/CU Independent Illustration)

There are generally high hopes for Francis I because he is the first pope from Latin America, home to 40 percent of the world’s Catholics, the largest amount of the religion on any continent and one that is rising. Europe, the home of almost all previous popes, is losing Catholic followers at an incredible rate. This change in dispersion and its reflection in Vatican City is expected to leave a lasting mark on Catholicism.

This shift in the papacy is inspiring for some of CU’s Catholic students. Their positive outlook on the future of the Catholic Church is good for morale and maintaining followers, as the numbers of Catholics worldwide dwindle as a whole. CU students found the Francis I’s humble beginnings and background to be important to them.

“I think that it is going to reflect more on our society today because previously, with the other popes, it was very traditional and it didn’t reflect our values today so I think it [the Church] is going to be more modernized.”
-Veronica Lamas, 22, senior ethnic studies and political science major

“As a Latina, I don’t think it will impact me as much as people think it will. Cardinal Peter Turkson or Cardinal Francis Arinze would have had a greater impact on how the church runs, because it would show a more progressive church.”
-Carly Carrasco-Wyant, 18, sophomore psychology major

“Often when I think of the Catholic Church, I imagine predominantly Europe. Maybe now people will think more about the widespread nature of the religion.”
-Jonathan DeMasi, 19, freshman molecular cellular and developmental biology major

“You just hope that the pope will do what’s best for people all over the world, Christian and non-Christian.”
-Amy Button, 18, freshman advertising major

Contact CU Indpendent Staff Writer Ari Browne at Shikari.browne@colorado.edu.