New Pope Francis I Elected: Catholics in Garden City React

Locals across the community Wednesday reacted to the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J. of Argentina.

A Jesuit, the newly renamed Pope Francis I was born in 1936 in Buenos Aires. He is the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

Patch Facebook user Eileen Read, who lives in Garden City, is happy with the selection. "He's a Jesuit! He will be awesome!" she wrote.

Fellow resident Don Pfail agreed. "As Jesuit University supporters we are overjoyed," he said.

University president Kevin Quinn, who hails from Garden City South, shared his thoughts on Pope Francis with the university community via email: "The University of Scranton shares the joy of Catholics worldwide at the selection of His Eminence Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina to serve as our next Pope.

"Pope Francis, as he has chosen to be forever known, shares a special bond with Scranton and all Jesuit colleges and universities across the globe as the first member of the Society of Jesus to be so elevated. May we all pray for the success of his papacy and the continued vitality of the Church in service to the people of God."

Lucia Buttaro, a professor in the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education at Adelphi University, studied and worked in Argentina from 1976 to 1986. She told Patch the new Pope puts Argentina back on the map.

"Many people really don't know that this is the fourth largest country in the continent of America. His name is Italian which is an indication that he is of Italian descent. Many people don't know that about 66 percent of the population of Argentina is of Italian background and that Argentinians do not see themselves as Hispanics or Latinos but as 'displaced Europeans,'" Buttaro said.

She added, "Latin America is mainly Roman Catholic so to have a priest from the Americas is a boost to the youth from central and south America as well. Argentina is not doing well financially, there is a lot of unemployment and people started to lose faith. The new pope will hopefully bring back the faith to those that need him the most. I think he will unify us global spiritual citizens."

Fellow Adelphi professor with Argentine ancestry Mariano Torras added, "The election of an Argentine Pope is symbolic of the growing prominence of South America vis-a-vis the rest of the world." Torras teaches economics in the Willumstad School of Business.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre immediately released a statement regarding the announcement: "Bishop William Murphy and the Roman Catholic Church of Rockville Centre join the universal Church in rejoicing in the selection of Francis I as Pope. We give thanks to God for the gift of Pope Francis I, the 266th successor of Saint Peter, the Vicar of Christ on earth. We join the Church in prayer for our new Holy Father as he begins his new ministry."

The statement continued, "Bishop Murphy and his brother priests will celebrate Masses of Thanksgiving in union with the Pope when he offers Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica to mark the beginning of his pastoral ministry as Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, Vicar of Christ and Universal Shepherd of the Catholic Church."