File picture. Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge says the new Pope is a surprising choice. Picture: Liam Kidston Source: The Courier-Mail
BRISBANE'S Archbishop Mark Coleridge was "deeply surprised" by the election of Jorge Bergoglio as the new Pope, but says the 76-year-old seems like a man of great personal simplicity who is "well equipped" to lead the way.
Speaking on Sky News AM Agenda on Thursday morning, Archbishop Coleridge said the choice of the new pontiff the first from Latin America - was "history in the making."
"He is the first Latin American pope and the significance of that is hard to overstate," he said.
"He is also the first Jesuit pope. The relations between the Jesuits and the Popes have at times been, to put it mildly, been complex.
"There was a lot about this (choice) that was genuinely surprising."
The Archbishop said when he initially heard the name of the new Pope; he thought they were referring to the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.
"Then when I heard 'Bergoglio', I was surprised and amazed. I thought his moment had passed, he was too old, but here we have a man who is acceptable in deep ways," he said.
"The way he was greeted in St Peter's square was quite remarkable and I think that will be the reaction around the world."
"I just hope his health and his energy hold up to enable him to do the job at hand because the challenge is enormous, particularly for a man at his age."
Describing Pope Francis as a man of "immense cultural and intellectual preparation," Archbishop Coleridge said he is also renowned for his social justice.
Newly elected Pope Francis appears on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica.
"He has been renowned for his love of the poorand the great simplicity of his personal life," he said.
"He lives in a little apartment, he does his own cooking and even takes public transport which not even the Archbishop of Brisbane does."
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