Pope Francis was chosen for the honour, 19 years after Time honoured Pope John Paul II with the same award. Pope John XXIII was also given the award in 1963.

"In his nine months in office, he has placed himself at the very centre of the central conversations of our time: about wealth and poverty, fairness and justice, transparency, modernity, globalization, the role of women, the nature of marriage, the temptations of power," Time editor Nancy Gibbs wrote in an editorial on the magazine's web site.

"This fact is unsurprising, considering the resonance and very widespread attention given to the election of Pope Francis and the beginning of his pontificate," said Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., the Vatican spokesman. "It is a positive sign that one of the most prestigious acknowledgements in the field of the international press has been attributed to one who proclaims spiritual, religious and moral values in the world, and who speaks effectively in favour of peace and greater justice."

Lombardi went on to add that "the Pope, for his part, he does not seek fame and success, since he carries out his service for the proclamation of the Gospel and the love of God for all. If this attracts men and women and gives them hope, the Pope is content. If this nomination as Person of the Year means that many have understood this message, at least implicitly, he will certainly be glad."

Other past honorees include several U.S. presidents, Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook. The magazine says the title goes to the person or idea that "for better or worse ... has done the most to influence events of the year."

Others under consideration for the award included former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, gay rights activist Edith Windsor, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz from Texas.