Rome, Italy, Mar 15, 2013 / 11:11 am
Just as Pope John Paul II influenced many in Poland, the rise of an Argentinian to the papacy is set to dramatically change the lives of many Christians, according to head of the Knights of Columbus.
"I think it offers the same kind of a potential for a great renewal of Catholicism and Christianity all throughout the Western Hemisphere," Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said March 15.
Just two days ago, the 76-year-old head of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected Pope. A humble man by all accounts, the Jesuit priest took the name Francis after the famous 13th-century saint of Assisi.
Anderson compared the recent election to Bl. John Paul II's election in 1978 that brought hope to Eastern Europeans in the midst of the Cold War.