A Pope is Person of the Year

Time magazine named Pope Francis its Person of the Year, stating that "In his nine months in office, he has placed himself at the very center 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..." Edward Snowden was named "The Dark Prophet" and landed at No. 2 because of being a whistleblower. Out100 honoree Edie Windsor, named the "Unlikely Activist" by Time, landed at No. 3 on the shortlist. At the same time, Windsor has launched a website, EdieWindsor.com, that includes Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" playing with images and highlights of her fight against DOMA.

Time's Eliza Gray writes: "It is difficult to overstate the practical benefits to every gay American following Windsor's victory in June. After the Supreme Court decision, gay couples could file joint tax returns, get access to veterans' and Social Security benefits, hold on to their homes when their spouses died and get green cards for their foreign husbands and wives. For many couples--especially those with children and those without means--these benefits and protections are not merely symbolic."

As she told Out earlier this year: "The next generation is so far advanced over us. I love that a lot of younger people now come out that would never have come out in the old days. Of course, they are born into a community already. They just have to discover it, whereas we were still building it."

In a statement issued in a press release release today, Windsor stated:

"I am honored that Time chose me as one of the number 3 individuals in the top 5 nominees for 'Person of the Year,' but I am just one person who was part of the extraordinary and on-going fight for marriage equality for all our families. There are thousands of people who helped us come this far and we still have a lot more work to do. The gay community is my 'person of the year' and I look forward to continuing to fight for equal rights and educate the public about our lives alongside my gay brothers and sisters and our allies. Even without taking the 'Person of the Year,' even being in the top 5 is an extraordinary way to end a year that has been historic for all of us and truly spectacular for me and gave me the chance to tell my story via Time through an interview and audio interview with photo slideshow. Thea would be thrilled, proud and so happy to see what we have all accomplished together."

Windsor talked to Time about gay people in her generation: "Most of us have spent most of our lives coming out selectively. It's safe here. It's good here. You can say you have a wife here, but not there." Though she had always been quietly supportive in the gay community, generous with her time and money, she had not been--in the most literal meaning of the word--an activist. Her case, of course, has changed that. "I can't be more out," she says joyfully.

Watch a video of Edie discuss her deceased wife Thea and their relationship: