Riva opens up about the moment when Pope Francis came directly to him and embraced him for over a minute without saying a word. Vinicio Riva is an Italian man who suffers from a non-infectious genetic disease called Neurofibromatosis-1. This painful disease covers the body with itchy sores, swellings, and tumors. Riva said he "felt a great warmth" from the Pope and that a load had been lifted from his shoulders since the incident. Pope Francis was elected to the papacy on March 13, 2013. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is the first American and first Jesuit pope.

TIME's Howard Chua-Eoan explains why Pop Francis was chosen as the magazine 2013 Person of the Year. Chua-Eoan comments on the charity and enthusiasm of Pope Francis and his modern thoughts on many issues that the Church has traditionally considered controversial. The award was created in 1927 to honor aviator Charles Lindbergh.

TIME editor Nancy Gibbs talks with TIME's Radhika Jones about why Pope Francis was awarded the Person of the Year award in 2013. They also discuss the other candidate they thought would have won including Edward Snowden, Ted Cruz, Bashar al-Assad, and Edie Windsor. The TIME Person of the Year award was created in 1927 to honor aviator Charles Lindbergh.

Archbishop Richard Smith, the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaks about the election of Pope Francis.

On March 16, 2013 the papal conclave elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, an Argentine cardinal and archbishop of Buenos Aires, as the 226th Pope of the Catholic Church.