Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to become the new Roman Catholic Pope on March 13, 2012. Choosing the name Francis, he has spent exactly one year in office as the inviolable Sovereign of the City-State of the Vatican and the Bishop of Rome. There are many “firsts” attached to Pope Francis, who chose the name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. He was born in Argentina, and that makes him the first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere. He is the first Pope that came from the Americas, the first non-European Pope and the first Pope from the Jesuit order.
Quiet retreat
To celebrate his one year in office, Pope Francis is shunning the public, and instead will be spending time outside of Rome for a spiritual retreat. He is always modest and wants to avoid pomp and ceremony as much as he can, despite his popularity. There is not even an official celebration for his first year as the head of the Vatican.
Instead, Pope Francis left Rome on Sunday and will be having a retreat in the woods near Castelli Romani. He still had an entourage of 83 members of the governing body of the Catholic Church, the Curia. All of them traveled by coach. This is also part of the annual calendar of the Vatican in preparation for Lent, which is marked by repentance, penance and self-denial.
Huge popularity
Ever since he stepped out of the balcony of St. Peter’s to greet his well-wishers, he has made millions of fans worldwide. His widespread popularity manifested in the increased attendance in churches all over the world. Some could say that Pope Francis has developed a cult following, which the humble Pope takes as something inappropriate. However, no one can deny that he is immensely popular, with a Twitter following of around 12 million in nine different languages.
Simple things
As a Pope he wants things to be simple. He does not like extravagance. He did not want to live in the papal palace and chose to live in a three-room guesthouse, Domus Sanctae Marthae. He chose not to wear the red cape and gold cross used by Pope Benedict XVI. His piscatory (ring of the fisherman) ring is made of silver instead of gold. He wants undecorated vestments and wears his old pectoral cross.
Reforms
There were already reforms instituted in the Vatican by the charismatic Pope. Papal staff have decreased incomes today, as overtimes are disallowed. The church has a firm stand on homosexuality, contraception and abortion but he said the homosexuals should not be marginalized and women should be valued.
He wants the church to look into the plight of the poor and the marginalized. Likewise, the Pope has appointed new financial advisers to reform the Holy See’s finances and the Vatican Bank that had been hit by scandal in recent years.
He might have millions of followers outside the Vatican, but it is another issue within its walls. There were some resistance in the way that Pope Francis is leading the church. Some do not like that idea of his accessibility and lack of distance.
Photo credit: Taken by Tânia Rêgo/ABr under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
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