December 23, 2013 | Vol. 182, No. 26

COVER
Pope Francis, The People’s Pope (2013 Person of the Year)
He took the name of a humble saint and then called for a church of healing. The first non-European pope in 1,200 years is poised to transform a place that measures change by the century

EDITOR’S DESK
The Voices of 2013 (Cover)

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
The Long Walk (Nelson Mandela 1918--2013)
Protester. Prisoner. Peacemaker

The Man Who Could Not Cry (Nelson Mandela / Appreciation)
Humor, humility and the ability to compromise were the marks of the man

How I Got to Play the Hero (Nelson Mandela / Appreciation)
An actor recalls the moment Nelson Mandela changed his life

A Leader and a Champion (Nelson Mandela / Appreciation)
South Africa’s rugby captain recounts how Mandela used sport for national healing

FEATURES
Pope Francis, The Choice (2013 Person of the Year)
With a focus on compassion, the leader of the Catholic Church has become a new voice of conscience. Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs explains why Francis is TIME’s pick for Person of the Year 2013

Bashar Assad, The Lethal Tyrant (2013 Person Of The Year / The Short List)
The doctor turned despot kept his grip on power. Still he sits uneasily on his contaminated throne. As Syria disintegrates, another generation of turbulence awaits

Edith Windsor, The Unlikely Activist (2013 Person Of The Year / The Short List)
In her ninth decade, she started a judicial odyssey, fighting a battle she never expected to wage ― let alone win. Now she’s the matriarch of the gay-rights movement

Ted Cruz, The Barn Burner (2013 Person Of The Year / The Short List)
In 2013, the audacious upstart shut down the government on a hopeless quest to stop the President’s signature policy. Love him or hate him, he is a vision of the future

Edward Snowden, The Dark Prophet (2013 Person Of The Year / The Short List)
He pulled off the year’s most spectacular heist. Exiled from his country, the 30-year-old computer whiz has become the doomsayer of the information age