A new pope was chosen on Wednesday, Mar. 13, approximately two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation and at the closing of two days of voting. Argentinean Jorge Mario Bergoglio was named Pope Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, a man who was committed to helping the poor.

The news of Pope Benedict XVI’s retirement in February stunned the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. He leaves behind a church buffeted by worldwide sexual abuse of children by priests, alleged financial inconsistencies at the Vatican bank, and calls from a section of the community to embrace gay marriages and allow women to be ordained as priests.

The new Pope Francis I thus faces the mammoth task of building confidence among Catholics and integrating reforms, without shaking the traditional tenets of the centuries-old institution.

Dr. David Creamer, associate professor of education and religion at the University of Manitoba, commented on the possible rebranding of the church with the new appointment.

“The change has already begun with the election of Pope Francis I, and this is what the Vatican might be—signally—to the world.”

The church is expanding in Asia, Africa, and South America, while it is dramatically contracting in Europe and North America, which led to growing calls for a pope outside Europe.

Creamer continued, “It would have been hard to pick cardinals who worked along with the former Pope Benedict XVI, as Benedict’s office is accused of covering up the scandals. The fact that Pope Francis I has no record of working in the Vatican sets him in a different category.”

Maria Amparo, a student from Argentina at the U of M, is of the view that full-fledged reforms cannot happen immediately, as the church is deep-rooted in tradition, but it should be more dynamic in the way it communicates.

“A form of communication has to change, but there are certain ways and things in the church that are sacred and cannot be modernized,” said Amparo. “I think having a new leader is a great start to rebrand itself.”

A leak of secret papal documents by Benedict XVI’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, last year showed corruption and rivalry inside the church government.

Gabriele told investigators that he exposed the documents in an effort to “bring the church back on the right track.”

“Seeing evil and corruption everywhere in the church, I finally reached a point of degeneration, a point of no return, and could no longer control myself,” said Gabriele.

It is too early to say whether Pope Francis I will initiate radical changes or follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, who has been criticized for remaining silent on the scandals.

Pope Francis I’s view against gay marriages is widely known, but he has also shown streaks of liberalism through his opinion on baptizing children of unwed parents and the use of condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS.

For now, the world is watching, and it is up to the papal office to restore the faith of Catholics as other sects of Christianity also gain momentum.