and you made an important point, i ve been getting a lot of tweets from people saying how do we know it s saint francis of assisi and not saint francis of xavier. you re saying if so, he would be called francis xavier. right, he was a great jesuit saint. i think the choice of francisco papa francesco think the name francesco here in italy and people light up. it s it s a great story that s unfolding before us. extraordinary day. we re joined by father albert cutie who left the church to marry. and sanjay gupta by phone. father, i m wondering your thoughts upon what you witnessed today. i think it s great to see a pope from latin america. you know, being latin american myself. i think hispanics all over the u.s., 50 million of us, have to feel very proud that there is a religious leader of this magnitude. the pope, the bishop of rome, is
after leading the crowd in an our father and hail mary, he asked them to pray for him. an unprecedented move. translator: i would like to offer you my blessing, but i would like to ask a favor first. first, before the bishop blesses the people, i would like to pray for the lord so that the prayer of the people blesses also the new pontiff. shortly after his election, francis called his predecessor, another first. then he dined with his former fellow cardinals, including new york s timothy dolan. he s already won our hearts. he obviously won our hearts, because he s the new pope. but he just we just had a very beautiful fraternal meal at the doma santa marta, where we have been staying. and he told us. he said, we toasted him, the
reached the pinnacle of power, and the very first decision he makes is to embrace that other face of the church and say this must be the face of authority and power and catholicism. i think for anybody who understands the ethos of the church, that is an absolutely revolutionary first step for a pope to take. and you made an important point, i ve been getting a lot of tweets from people saying how do we know it s saint francis of assisi and not saint francis of xavier. you re saying if so, he would be called francis xavier. i think the choice of francisco papa francesco think the name francesco here in italy and people light up. it s it s a great story that s unfolding before us. extraordinary day. we re joined by father albert cutie who left to marry. and sanjay gupta by phone. father, i m wondering your
we re called to be saints. and i just said, wow. reporter: the birth date for francis of assisi is believed to be around 1181 in central italy. until his early 20s, he seemed destined to be a wealthy merchant, like his father. then after being captured in battle and falling ill, a conversion. through dreams and visions, religious historians say, he became convinced that the church needed to return to its roots. he took on a life of poverty, prayer and service, a discipline embraced by cardinal bergoglio. this is a man who gave up his residence, his cardinal s residence, moved into a small apartment, gave up his driver. he wanted to project and live a simple life. reporter: saint francis of assisi is one of the patron saints of italy so the name instantly forms a bond between this new pope from argentina and the country that has given us so many popes. many miracles are attributed to saint francis. among them, an ability to talk to animals, especially birds.
the world has a new pope, as you know do in and out know by now. 1.2 billion catholics have a new leader and unlike many they have ever had. a short time ago, stepped on to the balcony, begins day one of his papacy as a true pioneer in many ways. the first latin american pope, you no doubt know. the first non-european pope in modern times. first to take the name francis after saint francis of assisi. this one made history quickly, as well. extraordinary scene in the square. this one made history pretty quickly. extraordinary scene in the square. the five rounds of voting, a decision. and as the white smoke rose, the crowd in st. peter s square erupted. the joy. this time, not tempered by mourning as it was eight years ago, because for the first time in 598 years, the previous pope is alive and well, retired, not