Catholics in Zambia pleased with election of new Pope

Catholics in Zambia pleased with election of new Pope

Lusaka, March, 14, 2013,  ZANIS — Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) Spokesperson Fr. Paul Samasumo says the Roman Catholic Church in Zambia is happy with the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new Pope.

Fr. Samasumo said the Catholic Church is happy because it had been looking forward to a day when the new Pope was to be elected after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI last month.

He said there are many expectations from the Roman Catholic Church and people around the world from Pope Francis as he embarks on the road to lead the biggest church organisation in the world.

Fr. Samasumo has also appealed to the Catholic Church in Zambia and the world at large to pray for Pope Francis who will be faced with the task to lead more than 1.2 billion Catholics around the world.

Fr. Samasumo was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today.

The ZEC Spokesperson also stated that the appointment of the Pope outside Europe shows the universality of the Roman Catholic Church around the world.

The new Pope who becomes the 266^th Pontiff in the Church’s 2,000 year history was elected Pope on Wednesday , March 13^th and will replace Pope Benedict XVI who resigned last month.

Pope Francis reportedly came second to Pope Benedict XVI during the 2005 conclave and few had predicted the election of the first Pope from outside Europe in 1,300 years.

The first Latin American and non-European Pope for more than a millennium has since received floods of goodwill messages from around the world.