Come to Buenos Aires, Argentina to learn Spanish and meet the hometown of Pope Francis. When one visits Buenos Aires, he or she will also learn from where our current and humble Pope came. See the culture, traditions, and scenery of this beautiful city that helped mold our current Pope into who he is. Pope Francis is a simple and serene pope; that is why there are no mass celebrations for his one year anniversary as the Pope of the Catholic Church. On his twitter account (@Pontifex) he is asking us, just like one year ago, to pray for him.
On March 13th, 2013, the Argentinian bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the new Pope of the Catholic Church. By this election he became the first Latin-American (and non-European) Pope in history. Even though there will be no official celebrations, as said by Vatican spokesman Lombardi, the Pope renews his twitter-message, “Pray for me”, to all Catholics in the world.
Not only was it the fact that he became the first non-European Pope in 1300 years that made this election special, it was also unusual to have two popes alive at the same time. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI decided to abdicate, and that had not happened for over 600 years.
Pope Francis has a modern view on the world, and is not afraid to change things in the Catholic Church. Today he is in Ariccia, in the Alban Hills 15 miles from the Vatican City, with the Roman Curia on a spiritual retreat. This is the first time in a very long time that this retreat has been held outside the Vatican. This first non-European Pope likes to bring fresh air in the Vatican City by bringing more simplicity in the Vatican, and downsizing the bureaucracy in the Curia.
Because of Pope Francis and his humility, the Catholic Church is again more popular with the younger generation, something the Vatican really needed after some very dark years.
