"As a champion of the poor and most vulnerable among us, he (Pope) carries forth the message of love and compassion that has inspired the world for more than two thousand years-- that in each other we see the face of God," Obama said in his congratulatory message.

Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elevated to the papacy by the College of Cardinals, making him the first Pope to be elected from Latin America.