- PHOTOS: St. Peter's Square in Vatican City
- PHOTOS: ABC 7 Chicago in Rome
Loyola University Chicago is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the United States. Wednesday, students and faculty members were glued to the television as history was made, the election of the first Jesuit pope.
Father Mark Bosco is a Jesuit priest and professor at Loyola. He says the Jesuits are an order of about 20,000 priests founded by St. Ignatius Loyola.
The Catholic church has several orders -- Dominicans, Franciscans, Benedictines and others. The Jesuits are known within the church for their work in education, their missionary work and their service to the poor.
Part of the reason there has never been a Jesuit pope until now is because, traditionally, Jesuits are known for staying away from internal church politics.
Scholars say Pope Francis seems to embody the Jesuit ideal of humility.
"When he became a cardinal, he didn't even get new robes," said Bosco. "He just said, Can you take someone's old robes and re-sew them? Really a man who's trying to live simply. He takes the bus. He cooks for himself."
"I really hope he connects back to the youth," Loyola student Natalie Nedrecki. "I know that Pope John Paul II really strongly advocated for the youth, and getting the youth back into the church, so I'm hoping that this one does the same."
