Pope Francis named Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2013

December 12, 2013
Pope Francis named Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2013. (Courtesy of The Huffington Post)

Pope Francis named Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2013.
(Courtesy of The Huffington Post)

By Kim Hye-sung

Pope Francis was been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2013 on Wednesday.

“What makes Pope Francis so important is the speed with which he has captured the imaginations of millions who had given up on hoping for the church at all,” Time said in its cover story.

“In a matter of months, Francis has elevated the healing mission of the church _ the church as servant and comforter of hurting people in an often harsh world _ above the doctrinal police work so important to his recent predecessors.”

Pope Francis became the first Jesuit pope in March 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

Following him in the top five were NSA leaker Edward Snowden, gay rights activist Edith Windsor, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.