Catholic Church Elects New Pope, Francis; Where Faithful Can Celebrate in Clinton Twp.

A new pope has been named to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, of Argentina, has been elected the 266th pope and is the first pope from Latin America.

Bergoglio is the son of middle-class Italian immigrants and became the first Jesuit archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was appointed cardinal three years later, according to the Washington Post. The article stated that Bergoglio leans to the conservative side on doctrinal and spiritual issues and opposes abortion and supports celibacy among priests.

He will take the name of Pope Francis, according to the Huffington Post.

Despite not having a front runner, in one of the fastest conclaves in years, Bergoglio received the necessary minimum of two-thirds (77) of the 115 votes on the fifth ballot, reported the Detroit News. The article stated that The Archdiocese of Detroit plans a special service Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the election of the new Pope, with time and place to be announced.

In Clinton Township, faithful can celebrate with regularly scheduled masses Thursday at Monastery of St. Therese, St. Thecla, St. Louis, St. Paul of Tarsus, St. Ronald and San Francesco Parish.

• Monastery of St. Therese: 7 a.m. at 35750 Moravian
• St. Thecla: 7:45 a.m. at 20740 S. Nunneley
• St. Louis: 9 a.m. at 24415 Crocker
• St. Paul of Tarsus: 8:30 a.m. at 41300 Romeo Plank Rd.
• St. Ronald: 9 a.m. communion at 17701 15 Mile Rd.
• San Francesco: 8 a.m. at 22870 S. Nunneley

What do you think of the decision? Tell us in the comments.