Many thought that the only logical choice for Time Person Of The Year would be NSA leaker Edward Snowden, but the magazine chose the popular new pope who has criticized modern capitalism.

Here's Nancy Gibbs of Time:

"At a time when the limits of leadership are being tested in so many places, along comes a man with no army or weapons, no kingdom beyond a tight fist of land in the middle of Rome but with the immense wealth and weight of history behind him, to throw down a challenge. The world is getting smaller; individual voices are getting louder; technology is turning virtue viral, so his pulpit is visible to the ends of the earth. When he kisses the face of a disfigured man or washes the feet of a Muslim woman, the image resonates far beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church."

Here's the cover: