MIAMI – Students and faculty at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School react to the election of Pope Francis, the first non-European pontiff of the modern era.
Jorge Bergogolio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected pope on Wednesday, the first pontiff from Latin America to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. He's also a Jesuit.
SPECIAL SECTION: Pope Francis elected
"We're really proud that we go to Belen because this is a Jesuit pope, and just saying that he's a Jesuit pope, it's such a major change in our world that we needed," said David Abreu. "We needed change and change will take us forward."
"As a Latin American, I feel very, somewhat flattered and at the same time humbled by this choice," said Father Pedro Suarez. "What I heard before the conclave was that the cardinals might choose someone from outside of Europe, and I always thought well maybe from Africa or Asia or maybe an American, but I never thought it was going to be a Latin American."
"Jesuits tend to be more progressive, a lot for the people," said Jose Luis Sirvenne.