Catholics choose new pope

(CNN) -- From the Vatican to Buenos Aires, Catholics worldwide rejoiced when Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became the new pope.
He's the first Jesuit and the first Latin American in modern times to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
But in some ways, he's just a normal guy.
Here are three things to know about Pope Francis:
1. His name says a lot about him Unlike other recent pontiffs -- John Paul II, Benedict XVI -- Pope Francis doesn't have a numeral after his name. That's because he's the first to take the name Francis. Why Francis? The pope wanted to honor St. Francis of Assisi, an admirer of nature and a servant to the poor and destitute.

St. Francis of Assisi was born the son of a rich cloth merchant. But he lived in rags among beggars at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Those close to Pope Francis see similarities between the two men. "Francis of Assisi is ... someone who turned his back on the wealth of his family and the lifestyle he had, and bonded with lepers and the poor," said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, the Vatican's deputy spokesman. "Here's this pope known for his care for AIDS patients and people who are very sick. Who is known for his concern with single mothers whose babies were refused to be baptized by priests in his diocese. "He scolded those priests last year and said, 'How can you turn these people away when they belong to us? '"

2. In some ways, Pope Francis is just a normal guy."The new pope is a very humble man," said the Rev. Eduardo Mangiarotti, an Argentine priest. "He takes public transport every day." He also chose to live in an apartment instead of the archbishop's palace, passed on a chauffeured limousine and cooked his own meals, CNN Vatican analyst John Allen wrote in a profile published by National Catholic Reporter. In his first public act as pontiff, Pope Francis broke with tradition by asking the estimated 150,000 people packed into St. Peter's Square to pray for him, rather than him blessing the crowd first. The pontiff broke with another tradition by refusing to use a platform to elevate himself above the cardinals standing with him as he was introduced to the world as Pope Francis."He said I'll stay down here," said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York and the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "He met each of us on our own level."

3. He comes with a side of controversy
Francis opposes same-sex marriage and abortion, which isn't surprising as leader of the socially conservative Catholic church. But as a cardinal, Francis clashed with the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over his opposition to gay marriage and free distribution of contraceptives.