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Pope Francis the New Face of the Church 梵蒂冈新教宗诞生

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Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now known as Pope Francis, was elected on March 13^th as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, which has about 1.2 billion members worldwide. The former Argentinean cardinal is the first pope from outside of Europe since the 8^th century.

枢机主教豪尔赫．马里奥．博格里奥，现以教宗方济之名为人所知，于今年3月13日被选为罗马天主教会的领袖；罗马天主教会现今在全球拥有约12亿教友。这位前阿根廷枢机主教是自8世纪以来首位非欧洲出身的教宗。

After Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, all 115 cardinals gathered in the Vatican on March 12^th to vote for the new pope. A winner must get at least two-thirds of the 115 cardinals’ votes to be named pope. After five rounds of voting, the traditional white smoke came out from a chimney on the Sistine Chapel’s roof to announce the election of the 266^th pontiff. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square cheered as the new pope appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

教宗本笃十六世辞世之后，所有共115位枢机主教于3月12日齐聚梵蒂冈以遴选新教宗。获选者必须赢得115席枢机主教中过三分之二的选票，方能被任命为教宗。在5轮投票之后，传统的白烟冒出西斯汀教堂屋顶的烟囱，宣告选出第266任罗马教宗。圣彼得广场上的群众，在新教宗现身于圣彼得大教堂阳台时大声欢呼。

The new pope chose Francis as his papal name to honor Saint Francis of Assisi, the 13^th century saint who led a simple life. Pope Francis said the Church should work for the poor and be poor itself. Due to his record of helping the needy, people believe Pope Francis will devote more time to looking after the less fortunate.

新教宗选择「方济」作为他的圣号，以荣耀阿西西的圣方济，这位13世纪的圣人生前过着简朴的生活。教宗方济言明教会应服务穷人，并清贫度日。基于他过去帮助穷人的事迹，人们相信教宗方济将贡献更多时间看顾困苦之人。

－by Bryan Shettig

Vocabulary

cardinal [ˋkɑrdnəl] n.（罗马天主教的）红衣主教，枢机主教

Roman Catholic Church 罗马天主教会

Argentinean [͵ɑrdʒənˋtɪnɪən] adj. 阿根廷的；阿根廷人的

resignation [͵rɛzɪgˋneʃən] n. 辞职

Sistine Chapel 西斯廷教堂

pontiff [ˋpɑntɪf] n.（亦作P-）罗马教宗

St. Peter’s Basilica [bəˋzɪlɪkə]  圣彼得大教堂

devote [dɪˋvot] v. 奉献

More Information

papal [ˋpep!] adj. 罗马教皇的；罗马教皇职位的

Reading Comprehension

1.   What is this passage mainly about?

(A)  How Pope Francis grew up.

(B)  A cardinal's responsibilities.

(C)  Why Pope Benedict XVI quit.

(D)  Some important news in the Vatican.

2.   Which of the following is NOT true?

(A)  Pope Francis beat Pope Benedict XVIto become the pope.

(B)  The new pope was elected by 115 cardinals.

(C)  White smoke won't emerge until the election of the new pope.

(D)  Pope Francis hopes the Church can be simpler.

3.   What makes Pope Francis special?

(A)  He works for the poor.

(B)  He is friends with Saint Francis.

(C)  He is not from Europe.

(D)  He honors 1.2 billion Christians.

Answer

The Election of Pope Francis