with surprised bystanders in the
street, mixing his formal speeches
with off-the-cuff remarks, Pope
Francis stamped his own style on the
papacy Sunday.
His humor and down-to-earth
manner captivated those filling St.
Peter's Square in Rome to
overflowing, and he worked the
crowd in a way that had to give his
security staff palpitations. Rome
Mayor Gianni Alemanno, in the
square himself, estimated the
crowd's size at 300,000.
`'Brothers and sisters, `Buon giorno,'"
Francis said in Italian in his first
welcome from the window of the
papal residence, setting an informal
tone that has become the defining
spirit of his young papacy.
Earlier Sunday, he made an
impromptu appearance before the
public from a side gate of the Vatican
that startled passers-by and
prompted cheers as he shook hands
and kissed babies. Francis had just
finished celebrating Mass and
delivering a six-minute homily -
brief by church standards - in the
Vatican's tiny parish church, St. Anna,
when he walked outside to greet
parishioners one by one, just as an
ordinary pastor does after weekly
services.
Francis started speaking at the
window even before the stroke of
noon - the appointed time for the
weekly papal address. The windows
of the papal study in the Apostolic
Palace were opened for the first
time since Francis' predecessor,
Benedict XVI, gave his last Sunday
blessing on Feb. 24. Four days later,
Benedict went into retirement, the
first pontiff to do so in nearly 600
years.
Francis, the first pope from Latin
America, was elected Wednesday
and has been staying in a hotel on
the Vatican's premises until the
papal apartment is ready.
"The pope is down-to-earth. He is a
people person and it is amazing,"
said Emanuel Anatsui from Britain.
"He is going to do wonderfully for
the church."
After Mass, Francis again put his
security detail to the test as he
waded into an intersection just
outside St. Anna's Gate. Francis
stepped up to the crowd, grasping
outstretched hands. The atmosphere
was so casual that several people
even gripped Francis on the
shoulder.
"Francesco! Francesco!" children
shouted his name in Italian. As he
patted one little boy on the head, he
asked "Are you a good boy?" and the
child nodded.
"Are you sure?" the pope quipped.
At one point he glanced at his watch
and turned to an aide - as if to ask
`'How much time do I have?"
The pope then ducked back inside
the Vatican's boundaries to dash
upstairs for the address to St. Peter's
Square.
Often abandoning the prepared text
in his hand, Francis told the crowd
that he wanted to talk about mercy,
saying he was inspired by a book
about forgiveness that he was
reading. Citing the author, an elderly
German cardinal, and praising him as
a `'top-notch" theologian, Francis
quipped: `'Don't think I'm making
publicity for my cardinals' books!"
drawing a roar of laughter from the
crowd.
Francis said mercy can `'change the
world" and make it "less cold and
more just."
He spoke only in Italian - ending
with "Buon pranzo" (Have a good
lunch) - a wish that triggered nods of
approval from the crowd in Rome,
where a leisurely Sunday family
lunch is a cherished tradition.
But Francis did tweet in English and
other languages, saying: "Dear
friends, I thank you from my heart
and I ask you to continue to pray for
me.'"
Past pontiffs have used the Sunday
window greetings to offer brief
reflections and wishes in several
languages.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico
Lombardi said Francis would likely
stick with Italian, a language he's
comfortable with for spontaneous
remarks. Lombardi left open the
possibility the 76-year-old pope
would use other languages in future
public appearances.
During his window speech, Francis
also talked about of his family's roots
in Italy's northwestern Piedmont
region. He told the crowd that by
naming himself as pope after St.
Francis of Assisi, an Italian patron
saint, he was `'strengthening my
spiritual tie with this land, where, as
you know, my family has its origins."
The crowd was cheering wildly when
Francis appeared at the window, but
fell into rapt silence when he began
to speak. Some people's eyes welled
up. Many people waved the blue-
and-white flag of Argentina, the
pope's homeland. Some people held
their children aloft or on their
shoulders to get a better look.
"We are so proud. He is Argentine,
but also belongs to the rest of the
world," said Ivana Cabello, 23, of
Argentina.
Angela Carreon, a 41-year-old Rome
resident originally from the
Philippines, ventured that Francis
"looks like John Paul II. "
"I hope he is like him," she said. "He
has a heart."
The globe-trotting Polish-born John
Paul II, who died in 2005, loved to
charm the crowds.
Several hundred extra traffic police
were deployed Sunday to control
crowds and vehicles for Francis' first
window speech as well as the annual
Rome marathon. Bus routes were
rerouted and many streets were
closed off to channel the curious and
the faithful up the main boulevard
from the Tiber river to St. Peter's
Square.
Giant video screens were set up so
the huge crowd could get a close
look at Francis, and dozens of
medical teams were on hand for any
emergencies. In the last hour before
noon, a large backup formed of
people trying to squeeze through
three openings in the fence ringing
the front of the square. But by the
time Francis appeared, all had calmly
found a viewing spot.
Among Francis' first formal meetings
is an appointment Monday with
Argentine President Cristina
Fernandez. That will provide an
opportunity to see if the new pope's
easygoing manner still holds - the
two have been on opposite sides for
many years. As Buenos Aires
archbishop, Francis had lobbied hard
against the government's move to
legalize gay marriage and make
contraceptives available for free.
On Tuesday, Fernandez will join
other world leaders and senior
international envoys, including U.S.
Vice President Joe Biden and the
president of Jesuit-run Georgetown
University, for Francis' formal
installation as pope.
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