It has been a year since that magical evening of March 13 when, at about 7.15pm, Pope Francis, 76, made his first appearance both to the world and to his 1.2 billion Catholic flock.
His first words soon captured the hearts of believers and non-believers alike. In his first address, the Argentinean Pontiff admitted that the cardinals had to go to the other side of the world to choose the bishop of Rome.
Then, he gratefully acknowledged the sterling work done by his predecessor, Benedict XVI, by inviting the crowd present at St Peter’s Square and those following the event on the media and social network, to pray for the previous pontiff.
The Holy Father took the opportunity to explain the Pope’s role as being that of a bishop journeying with the people. He described this journey as that of “fraternity, of love, of trust between us”.
Pope Jorge Bergoglio’s humility continued to convince the crowds when he humbly asked those present to pray for him so that the Lord would bless him. He cherished the idea that the people might bless their bishop!
Humble words touch the hearts but prophetic actions convince absolutely. The very person who kicked off his pontificate by speaking humbly was the same man who showed to the world that simplicity is his fundamental way of approaching the people. His humble attire justifies what I am saying. Pope Francis opted for simpler vestments that are void of ornamentation. He boldly refused to put on the papal mozzetta cape on the day he was elected. He chose to wear silver instead of golden piscatory ring while keeping the same pectoral cross he put on as a cardinal.
Pope Francis decided not to reside in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace, which apartments were previously made use of by his predecessors, but opted instead to dwell in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse. In his homily at the inauguration of his Petrine ministry Mass, celebrated in St Peter’s Square on March 19, the Pope said that the “lowly, concrete and faithful service which marked St Joseph” was of great inspiration to him.
In fact, Pope Francis envisioned his Petrine ministry as that of offering protection.
His openness to the people led some to erroneously believe that Francis would change the Church’s teaching on controversial issues
For him, the Bishop of Rome should protect God’s people and the entire humanity, “especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important”. Moreover, like the patron saint of his papacy, St Francis of Assisi, the Holy Father saw that it was his duty to protect creation. He stated: “To protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of creation, to protect each person, especially the poorest, to protect ourselves: this is a service that the Bishop of Rome is called to carry out.”
Six days after he was elected, Francis expressed his million dollar wish: “How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!”
In his speech in Assisi, hometown of St Francis, the Pope said that the Church needs to undergo a thorough conversion of attitudes herself.
“What must the Church strip herself of,” the Pope asked. Then he replied to his own soul-searching question by stressing emphatically that the danger of worldliness, “a very grave danger that threatens the whole Church”, a “worldliness that leads to vanity, arrogance, pride”, is the poison that ruins the spiritual fabric of Christ’s body.
His openness to the people led some to erroneously believe that Francis would change the Church’s teaching on controversial issues such as contraception, cohabitation, sacraments for the divorced who remarry, and gay relationships. However, the Holy Father fully espouses the Church’s stance on the prohibition on artificial birth control as taught in Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae.
To reinforce the Church’s position that marriage is between a man and woman, Francis called a synod in October so that the family can be helped to confront the challenges it is facing.
Pope Francis is determined that abuse of every sort in the Church is immediately curbed. The reforms of the Holy See’s financial institutions and his zero tolerance to child abuse are cases in point.
May he keep renewing the Church with his humility, simplicity and wisdom in the years to come.