Time Magazine’s Person of the Year 2013 has been announced, and Pope Francis has taken the front cover beating out Edward Snowden, Edith Windsor, Bashar Assad and Ted Cruz for the spot.

Pope Francis took the mantle of the papacy after Pope Bennedict stepped down, making him the first non-European pope in 1,200 years. Originally from Buenos Aires, Francis was well-known for his generosity and humility.

He hasn’t been afraid to make some controversial statements in his reign as Pope. He dennounced trickle-down economics as an “idoletry of money,” and warned that it would lead to a “new tryranny.” He assured the non-religious that they did not need to beleive in God in order to go to heaven, so long as they follow their consious. Pope Francis has also taken a progressive stance on homosexuality and Christianity, saying “If someone is gay and is looking for the Lord, who am I to judge him?”

The Pope has done quite a lot to shift the perception of the Catholic Church: establishing a far different feeling than the church under Pope Bennedict. It is an impressive accomplishment for an institution that for so long has remained the epitome of unchanging and unyielding.

For this reason, we think that the decision to make Pope Francis the Person of the Year is an inspired choice.