(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Roman Catholic followers from around the world woke up on Thursday (March 14) to the news that the first South American pope had been elected to lead them.<br/> <br />Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio's election as pope has broken Europe's centuries-old grip on the papacy, opening the doors on a new age of simplicity and humility for the Roman Catholic Church, mired in intrigue and scandal.<br/> <br />As well as being the first South American pontiff, he is also the first non-European pope in 1,300 years and the first to take the name Pope Francis, in honour of St. Francis of Assisi, the 12th century saint who spurned wealth to pursue a life of poverty.<br/> <br />His elevation on the second day of a closed-door conclave of cardinals came as a surprise, with many Vatican watchers expecting a longer deliberation, and none predicting the conservative 76-year-old Bergoglio would get the nod.
