Latin Americans are reacting with joy to news of the first pope from the southern hemisphere.
So are many of the 22,000 living here in Sioux Falls.
KSFY News asked what this means for Latinos in our area to find out how significant is this to them.
We met with the leader of the Sioux Falls Diversity Council and as you can imagine, he says Latinos around the world are very excited.
Bells ring at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Sioux Falls and around the world as Catholics celebrate the election of a new pope.
And it's the election of Pope Francis, the first pope from South America, which also has Latinos feeling especially proud.
Juan Bonilla, president of the Sioux Falls Diversity Council told us why the selection of a pope from Argentina is so important to Latinos worldwide.
"Right now, the Latinos in the united states are over 15 million, so we are the biggest minority right now in the United States. Here in Sioux Falls, we are more than 22, 000 Latinos and we doubled our presence from 2010 to 2011. So having a new pope who is Latino, makes it easier for us to be heard and accepted from this community," Bonilla said.
When we asked Bonilla what he thought about Pope Francis, he called him by his Spanish name, Francisco.
