Courtesy of Catholic Church via Flickr Creative Commons

Pope Francis I was selected as Time magazine’s Person of the Year, joining the ranks of past winners who include President Barack Obama, Joseph Stalin and Ghandi.

On Dec. 11, Pope Francis I was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. The first non-European to head the Catholic Church in 1,200 years, and the first ever Latin American, the Pope has already changed the perception of the Papacy though he only assumed the position this March.

Called “The People’s Pope” by Time Magazine, Francis has been able to focus on mercy and the healing message of the church rather than judgment and controversial questions of doctrine and theology including abortion, gay rights and divorce. He has connected with the people and pulled the Papacy out of the palace and into the streets, according to Time’s announcement. He has made it clear he doesn’t just want the church to talk about change, he wants it to create change in the world.

The former Argentinian cardinal tops a list of 10 influential individuals from 2013, including last year’s person of the year, President Barack Obama, Edward Snowden who released WikiLeaks and Syria’s President Bashar Assad. He is the third pope ever to be recognized as person of the year following John Paul II in 1994 and Pope John XXIII in 1963, and he is the sixth religious leader to win the award. The only other three religious leaders chosen are Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr, Ayatollah Khomeini and Gandhi.