Habemus Papam: Cardinal Bergoglio is first Spanish-speaking Pope in 510 years

The first Latin American – in fact, non-European - Pope in more than 1,000 years and the first native Spanish-speaking pontiff in 510 years, 76-year-old Bergoglio addressed the crowds formed below the balcony of the Basilica di San Pietro in Rome, commenting on how his ‘brother cardinals’ had ‘chosen one from afar’, but ‘here I am’.

He will be known as Pope Francisco I.

Calling for ‘brotherhood’ in the Catholic community, Francisco I led prayers for his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who will remain Pope Emeritus now he has retired.

Spain’s first Pope was Saint Dámaso, between 366 and 384  AD, although official records claim he was Italian – despite it having been proven that his parents were from Galicia.

The only other two Spanish-speaking Popes were part of the infamous Borgia dynasty – Calixto III, or Alfonso de Borja, from 1455 to 1458, and Alessandro VI between 1492 and 1503.

No other Spanish-speaking country in the world has had a Pope.