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New Pope Francis a Mystery for Many Austinites

courtesy flickr.com/postmoderngirl/

The eyes of much of the world were on the Vatican this afternoon for the announcement that a new pope had been elected.

Pope Francis of Argentina is the first pope from the Americas. Here in Austin, Bishop Joe Vasquez says that origin suggests someone with a perspective popes of the past have not had.

“He’s going to have a different view than a European might, because he’s lived most of his life in South America and Argentina, and therefore I think he’s going to have a different view,” Vasquez said.

Vasquez says his initial reaction was similar to that of a lot of people, in that he was unfamiliar with the cardinal from Argentina and wanted to find out more about him.

Andrew Weber is KUT's government accountability reporter. Got a tip? You can email him at aweber@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @England_Weber.
Trey Shaar is an All Things Considered producer, reporter and host. Got a tip? Email him at tshaar@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @treyshaar.
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