Argentina congratulates new pope

BUENOS AIRES, April 20 (UPI) -- Argentina officially extended Wednesday its congratulations to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany for his election as the new pope.

"We certainly wish the new pope a great papacy," said Alberto Fernandez, chief of Staff for Argentine President Nestor Kirchner.

Fernandez then confirmed Kirchner will attend the coronation of Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI at this Sunday's ceremony in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.

While the Argentine government expressed its support for the new pope, many had hoped a regional man of the clergy -- particularly an Argentine -- would assume the mantle as the Catholic Church's 265th pope.

Among the candidates was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires, a conservative in the mold of Pope John Paul II, and a staunch advocate of helping the poor.