Here are 20 things you might not have picked up on which either Pope Francis has done during his pontificate or got up to before he came to Rome:
1. Today he has broken years of tradition by choosing not to hold the Maundy Thursday foot-washing in one of the main Churches in Rome, such as St Peter’s Basilica. Instead he is heading to a young offenders institute in Rome to wash and kiss the feet of 12 of them.
2. When leaving Argentina to cast his vote on who the new Pope would be, a couple of his friends clubbed together to buy him some new shoes because the ones he was planning to wear were shabby and worn. (Those same black shoes are apparently the ones we’ve seen him wearing as Pope!)
3. Once declared the new Pope (something he was not expecting due to his age) it is customary for the Cardinals to greet him one by one. He decided not to sit on the throne prepared for the welcome, instead choosing to stand up and greet his ‘brothers’.
4. As the Pope and Cardinals were leaving for St Peter’s Square (where the new Pope was to appear on the balcony), a special Papal car had been prepared for Francis, however he opted to travel by bus with the other Cardinals.
5. Having left his life in Argentina there are few things he had to sort out. Rather than ask a PA or secretary to call up his newsagent back in Buenos Aires to cancel his daily paper delivery, he decided to do it himself! It took a while to convince the boy on the other end that it really was the Pope on the phone wanting to thank them for their service all these years.
6. It has been reported by the newsagents that the paper delivered to the Cardinal was always bound by a rubber band, and at the end of each month he would return all the elastic bands! A thrifty Cardinal.
7. When Pope Francis was a Cardinal he turned down the bishop’s palace, choosing more modest accomodation, which included cooking for himself.
8. In his first week in office Pope Francis had Mass with the Vatican gardeners and cleaning staff.
9. Once he became Pope he decided to return to the guesthouse he had been staying in prior to the voting process to collect his belongings himself… and also to settle the bill and thank the staff!
10. His financial advisor in Argentina was an evangelical Christian, with those who know the Pope saying that he reportedly chose him because he knew he could trust another Christian. Apparently they spent hours reading the Bible together.
11. He has washed the feet of Aids victims, sick children and new mothers.
12. He said that the papal apartment is too big for one man so has not moved in there.
13. The Pope is living in the Vatican guesthouse with other clergy who work for the Vatican, using a communal dining room and living in modest accomodation.
14. Evangelist Luis Palal (who runs Christian crusades the world over) counts Pope Francis as a personal friend, sharing how he is a man of prayer who knows the Gospel/kerygma.
15. He had the Patriarch of Constantinople at his inauguration Mass, the first time a Patriarch from there has attended a papal installation since the split from the Church in Rome.
16. Pope Francis has chosen not to wear a gold cross usually worn by Popes, wearing a simpler one.
17. He likes to give the thumbs up to people when he sees them in the crowd and also liked to dance the Tango as a young man!
18. Pope Francis said his first Mass in the small church on the edge of the Vatican instead of in the main basilica, and then stood outside afterwards like a parish priest greeting all the parishonners one by one.
19. He is a friend of Pentecostals, evangelicals, Jews, Orthodox Christians. Reports suggests that he always asks other Christians to pray for him, often asking them to ‘lay hands’ on him.
20. He chose the name Francis after St Francis of Assisi because his Cardinal friend whispered to him ‘don’t forget the poor’ just before he had to choose a name.
I think he is a man who reminds all Christians that our faith is about love and service, and that through reaching out to others we will point them to Christ.
Maria
Vatican Watch 2013 