---
title: "Conclave Elects Pope Francis"
description: "Pope Francis was elected on Wednesday as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio hails from Argentina and becomes the first Latin American pontiff. According to Pew Research Center data on the distribution of the world's Catholic population, the largest share of the Catholic population (39%) lives in Latin America and the Caribbean."
date: "2013-03-13"
authors:
  - name: "Benjamin Wormald"
    job_title: "Senior Engineer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/benjamin-wormald/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/03/13/conclave-elects-pope-francis/"
categories:
  - "Catholicism"
  - "Religious Leaders & Institutions"
---

# Conclave Elects Pope Francis

Pope Francis was elected on Wednesday as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio hails from Argentina and becomes the first Latin American pontiff. According to Pew Research Center data on the [distribution of the world's Catholic population](/Christian/Catholic/The-Global-Catholic-Population.aspx), the largest share of the Catholic population (39%) lives in Latin America and the Caribbean.

![pope-francis-graphic](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2013/03/PF_13.03.12_Pope-Francis.png)

**Related Resources from the Pew Research Center**

[‘Strong’ Catholic Identity at a Four-Decade Low in U.S.](/Christian/Catholic/Strong-Catholic-Identity-at-a-Four-Decade-Low-in-US.aspx) March 13, 2013 Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life

[Views of the Catholic Church Today: U.S. Catholics See Sex Abuse as the Church’s Most Important Problem, Charity as Its Most Important Contribution](/Christian/Catholic/US-Catholics-See-Sex-Abuse-as-the-Churchs-Most-Important-Problem-Charity-as-Its-Most-Important-Contribution.aspx) March 6, 2013 Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life

[U.S. Catholics: Key Data from Pew Research](https://www.pewresearch.org/2013/02/25/u-s-catholics-key-data-from-pew-research/) Feb. 25, 2013 Pew Research Center

[The Global Catholic Population](/Christian/Catholic/The-Global-Catholic-Population.aspx) Feb. 13, 2013 Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life

[Resources on Catholicism and the Pope](/Christian/Catholic/Pew-Forum-Resources-on-Catholicism-and-the-Pope.aspx) March 13, 2013 Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life