( CNN ) -- Just a few days after Pope Francis decried capitalism , Argentine lawmakers weighed a new way to honor him : putting his face on a coin . A proposal to create a commemorative coin as a tribute to Latin America 's first Pope passed in Argentina 's lower house on Thursday , Rep. Oscar Cachi Martinez said in a post on his official Facebook page . Martinez first proposed the measure in April , and it garnered approval from congressional committees earlier this month . Now the bill will be sent to the South American county 's Senate for consideration . The goal of the coins , according to the text of the proposed law , is `` to commemorate an event of global dimensions , so our present and future generations remember this splendid act in the history of humanity , in which the principal actor is an Argentine . '' Beneath the Pope 's face , the coins would read , `` Tribute from the Argentine People to Pope Francis . '' Catholic faithful across Latin America cheered the election of Pope Francis earlier this year . Even though about 480 million of the world 's 1.2 billion Catholics live in the region , for centuries , the church 's top job had gone to Europeans . That changed with the announcement that then-Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio , who served as archbishop of Buenos Aires , would become the new Pontiff . Many Argentines were overjoyed . But the news was met with a more tepid response from President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner , who sent a dry letter of congratulations that failed to mention that Francis was the first Pope from Argentina and the Western Hemisphere . Several years before , Fernandez 's government had sparred with Bergoglio in a notorious war of words over a gay marriage law the President backed . But since his election in March , Francis has made headlines by decrying the iniquities of modern capitalism , embracing the poor and people with disabilities and reaching out to gays and lesbians . At the same time , the 77-year-old pontiff has sought to to awaken a spirit of joy and compassion in the church , scolding Catholic `` sourpusses '' who hunt down rule-breakers and calling out a `` tomb psychology '' that `` slowly transforms Christians into mummies in a museum . '' And Martinez says there 's no doubt Pope Francis is already leaving his mark . `` To this Argentine who , for being a good pastor to his flock , especially to those who most need him , we all owe a tribute , a great tribute , '' Martinez said in a post about the initiative on his official website , making the case for Argentina 's lawmakers to act . `` We believe that the way of being , the charisma and the humility of Pope Francis have managed to revive global sympathy for the Catholic Church , '' he said . CNN 's Daniel Burke contributed to this report .
NEW : A proposal to create a coin honoring Pope Francis passes lower house . Comment: The commemorative coin aims to honor the Pope 's Argentine origin . Pope Francis is the first Pontiff from Latin America .