On 13 March the cardinals elected Pope Francis in a climate of maximum global media expectation, which continues as audiences and media get to know an unexpected pontiff. In Rome there were 5,600 accredited journalists; 150,000 people packed St Peter's place . At 19.07, 11 million television viewers watched the white "smoke", a figure that only a few (especially sporting) events can reach. Twitter officially says there were more than 7 million tweets about the Pope that day. When his name was announced to the world, the rate was 130,000 tweets per minute. This is data , which places the election of the Pope among the unique events in terms of its dissemination. Why this fascination of media and audiences?

The Pope enjoys the highest media interest. He is source of literary best sellers, programmes with audiences in the millions, videos in mass circulation on network, Twitter accounts with thousands of followers. In these times of fragmented audiences and mass attention, media demand and coverage is assured. Questions raised by the Church and religion are at the centre of public opinion. As we have seen in recent days, when the Pope is mentioned, the audience increases.

The value and media visibility of the Pope received a considerable boost during the pontificate of John Paul II. The media echoed his multitudinous encounters with the people and were powerful loudspeakers for his message. The high media presence continued in the pontificate of Benedict XVI, who has found himself until his last hours as Pontiff on the front pages of digital and print editions and opening television news programmes. On 28 February audiences bade a live farewell to Benedict XVI, after the "shock" of his Withdrawal. His helicopter left surrounded by flashbulbs, microphones and television cameras, tweets and blog entries in a broadcast that was described as impeccable and surprising.

On the other hand, few institutions are as truly global as the Catholic Church, with almost 1.2 billion faithful on five continents. An overly Eurocentric and North American analysis of the Pope might suggest that the institution over which he presides is in decline. The data does not support this assertion. In reality, the Catholic Church is growing more than the world's population. It has grown from 266 million faithful in 1900 to 1,197 million in 2010. In some parts of the Americas, Asia and Africa the increase in numbers is explosive. In Asia, for example, the percentage of Catholics doubled in the 20th century. In 1900 there were barely one million Catholics in Africa. Today there are 160 million, in a demographic estimate that is considered conservative.

Moreover, the television value of the images coming out of Rome is unquestionable. That is why the great faces of the world's television networks awaited the news live. The Sistine Chapel or the place of St. Peter's are places of spectacular beauty that make up the television "set" of any film-maker's dreams. This time the images have also brought us closer to places we had not yet seen, and interesting photographs are multiplying, aided by the ease of sharing that social networks and mobile platforms provide. Perhaps we are still too close to the facts, but Pope Francis is showing a special sensitivity for gestures and symbols. He doesn't just say things, he does them.

All these factors explain, in part, the fascination of the media and the public. Perhaps the interest of this unique global news has to do with the Pope's reference letter character in a world of weak and unstable ties, where everything changes. For the moment, the Pope, the Church and the questions they raise are on the front page, on television and on the network of our "global village". We will continue to experience (and study) this live in the coming days. Conclaves produce world leaders.