Special mass was held at San Felipe de Neri church in Old Town to celebrate the new pope.
People from all over Albuquerque gathered at the church for the 6 o'clock mass. Father Dennis Garcia talked about how much this selection means for the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis I is the first to take that name, the first from Latin America, and the first Jesuit pope.
"This is the new world, we have a new pope now from the new world," Father Dennis Garcia said.
Pope Francis I took the name from Saint Francis of Assisi, who was known for living a life of poverty.
Father Andy Pavlak from San Miguel Catholic Church in Socorro said that shows Pope Francis I will likely make a lot of his decisions for the church based on his focus on helping the poor.
"He took the name of Francis, so he's going to take that Franciscan humility and the poverty of what being a religious order is all about into play possibly reorganizing the Curia which has been hoped for some time," Pavlak said.
-- Danielle Todesco, KOB Eyewitness News 4
