The Holy See’s representative to India on Friday organized an event in New Delhi to mark the second anniversary of Pope Francis’s election. When Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected Pope on March 13, 2013, after Pope Benedict XVI stepped down on Feb. 28, he became history’s first Jesuit and first Latin American pope. He assumed the name Francis after Italy’s popular saint from Assisi, known for his poverty and simplicity.
Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Salvatore Pennachio held a reception in the gardens of the nunciature with Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs of India as chief guest. Among the guests were numerous Asian, Latin American and European ambassadors, as also representatives of India’s political, business and cultural sectors. Representatives of India’s Catholic Church and other Christian denominations were also invited. Among them were Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, Cardinal Oswald Gracias and Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, the head of the eastern rite Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
