Silence and Simplicity

As Cardinal Bergoglio, kissing the feet of babies

The two qualities that came out of Pope Francis’ first appearance were silence and simplicity. He asked the thousands of people gathered at St Peter’s square to silently bow their heads in prayer and then bless him, before he returned the favor. One could hear a pin drop in those 20 seconds of silence. Obviously his humility and simplicity were all over his personality. His Papacy will definitely be different, as he will certainly be known as the Pope if the poor and the underprivileged.
Pope Francis has the trait of all his previous predecessors. He has the seriousness and decisiveness of Pius XII, the affability and down-earthedness of John XXIII, the ecumenical perspective of Paul VI, the pastoral humility of John Paul I, the charm and attractiveness of John Paul II and the theological knowledge of Benedict XVI. Many details about his early life are coming out. He reportedly had a girlfriend, Amalia whom he asked to marry when he was 12. His only surviving sibling is a sister, Maria Elena. 

Family photo: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, second from left in back row, poses for a picture with his family in an unknown location. Top row from left to right, his brother Alberto Horacio, Bergoglio, his brother Oscar Adrian and his sister Marta Regina. Bottom row from left to right, his sister Maria Elena, his mother Regina Maria Sivori and his father Mario Jose Bergoglio.

He loves to dance the Tango and is a fan of Buenos Aires’ San Lorenzo de Almagro soccer team. He’s near to the people; he’d always take the subway to go to these poor neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. This is a humble man and a joyful man who prays a lot. He prays two hours in the morning since he became a Cardinal in 2001. 

With a limo waiting for him, Pope Francis prefers the bus with the other Cardinals

Pope Francis caught the last bus of Cardinals returning to the Santa Marta guesthouse in the Vatican following the conclave Wednesday, and ignored the special limousine waiting for him.. At the toast made to him that night at dinner, he responded: “may God forgive you for what you’ve done.”
The day he was departing for the conclave, a couple of friends brought him a pair of shoes. He’s always very humbly dressed…and the shoes he was wearing were not in very good shape. So even in those little things you see the humility, the austerity of this pastor. In Buenos Aires he’s very much devoted to the work of justice and peace. He founded a Vicariate called ‘Priests for the Favellas’ (a very poor and disadvantaged slum area). So in our diocese he has a little structure of priests working just in the favellas. He himself would go there; he would cook for them on Christmas day – even as Cardinal.

Bergoglio First Holy Communion - Jorge on left and Oscar on right