From taking time to pay his own hotel bill after being elected pope to asking his fellow countrymen to forgo coming to Rome for his inauguration so they can use the money to help the poor, the legendary humility of Pope Francis I is fast becoming the talk of the world.
It began on the night of his election when Pope Francis and the cardinals were returning to the Santa Marta.
“When he left to go back with us to Santa Marta, the staff moved us aside, because usually the pope descends alone in the elevator,” Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard told the New York Times. “And he said, ‘No no, no, no, we can all get in.’ And so we all got into the elevator, with the pope.
“And when we got to the bottom, he said, ‘No, I am coming with you,’ and he got in the bus with us, and the papal car left empty,” he added. “I think this is the style of our new pope.”
It appears that Cardinal Ricard got it right. Instead of acting like the leader of the world’s largest Church, Pope Francis spent his first day on the job praying at Our Lady’s feet, then stopping by his hotel to pick up his luggage and pay the bill. He said Mass for his fellow cardinals wearing plain black shoes and an ordinary wristwatch with a plain leather band.
Later that evening, instead of using the papal car, he rode with the cardinals in a minivan to dinner, affectionately telling them, “May God forgive you for what you’ve done.”
At an audience with cardinals held on Friday, the pope asked them not to wear red robes with white lace surplices, but instead to come to the meeting in plain black cassocks.
Even more amazing is that he sent word to his people in Argentina asking them not to come to Rome for his installation Mass and to make a charity offering to the poor instead.
But those who know him say this is nothing new. According to Archbishop Emil Paul Tscherrig, the apostolic nuncio in Argentina, he made the same request in 2001 when he was made a cardinal.
Zenit reports that Tscherrig was asked by Pope Francis to deliver a message to all the dioceses in Argentina, expressing his “serene gratitude for the prayers and expressions of tenderness, affection and charity he has received” since his election as Pope.
“At the same time, instead of coming to Rome for the beginning of his pontificate on March 19, he would like them to continue with their much appreciated spiritual closeness, accompanying it with a gesture of charity to the neediest.”
Meanwhile, Vatican security is adjusting to the new pope’s casual style.
“Those responsible for the security of the Pontiff are at his service and adapt their methods to protect each Pope in their personal style,” said Father Federico Lombardi at a press briefing. “John Paul II, for example, was a Pontiff who broke with all expectations and went to greet people without any prior warning. Those entrusted with the Pope’s security adjust their methods to protect each in their own way.”
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