Pope Francis
Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church has been chosen by TIME Magazine as their “Person of the Year” for the year 2013. Nancy Gibbs, after announcing the magazine’s decision on Wednesday, explained that the Pope has been selected for his global influence and his great leadership.
Rev. Federico Lombardi, the spokesman for the Vatican City said in an interview with AP that he is not at all surprised by Pope Francis receiving this honor. However, he expressed that the religious leader is not seeking fame or glory in any way, but the fact that TIME has given him this privilege will be a great help in spreading the Gospel and the love of God to the rest of the world, and that is what Pope Francis is truly happy about.
Pope Francis was hailed by both the religious and the secular communities for being the first Pontiff to hail from Latin America. In addition he is also the first Jesuit, or a member of the Society of Jesus to become the leader of the Catholic Church. Throughout his ministry ever since he became bishop of Rome, many have started to speak of a “Pope Francis Effect” because of the kindness and love to the people that he served. In addition, because of the Pope’s ability to turn disaffected Catholics from both Latin America and Europe to return to the church and their faith.
TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year” award (originally known as “Man of the Year”) first started in 1927, where the company would select one individual (he can be good or bad) who had the most influence on the news and media worldwide. Other people who were considered for this seat of honor for 2013 include Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon and gay rights activist Edith Windsor.
