NEW YORK - Time magazine on Wednesday named Pope Francis its person of the year, saying that in nine months in office the head of the Catholic Church had become a new voice of conscience.
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives for his general audience at St Peter's square on Wednesday, Dec 11, 2013 at the Vatican. (AFP photo)
"Rarely has a new player on the world stage captured so much attention so quickly - young and old, faithful and cynical - as Pope Francis,'' explained Time managing editor Nancy Gibbs.
"In his nine months in office, he has placed himself at the very center of the central conversations of our time: about wealth and poverty, fairness and justice, transparency, modernity, globalisation, the role of women, the nature of marriage, the temptations of power."
The runner-up for the accolade was NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has been granted asylum in Russia and with whom Time published an exclusive interview conducted over email.