Time magazine names Pope Francis 2013 Person of Year

Time magazine named Pope Francis its person of the year, hailing the head of the Catholic Church as a new voice of global conscience since taking office in March.

The 76-year-old, who rose from modest beginnings and has been praised for his down-to-earth approach, is the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years, the first Latin American head of the Church and a leading voice for the dispossessed.

He has taken on leadership of a 1.2-billion-strong Church beset by scandal and signs of deep internal dysfunction, but there are signs his popularity is revitalising it.