1 Habemus Papam Franciscum
Saint Peter’s Square is an enormous expanse of open umbrellas. Thousands of people, braving the cold and the rain, had been waiting for hours for the copper chimney of the Sistine Chapel to give the expected response. On the first evening, at 4:30 p.m., the long, impressive procession of 115 purplegarbed prelates, the electors of the conclave that had been called to appoint the successor of Benedict XVI, filed from the Pauline Chapel to the Sistine. After the oath 关of secrecy兴 and the meditation presented by Cardinal Prosper Grech, the cardinals voted for the first time. Even though a result of black smoke was taken for granted, many, many people had gathered with their noses held high, waiting to know the outcome. The abundant billows of raven-colored smoke confirmed that the electors had decided to start immediately with the ballots. And, as was to 7
francis: pope of a new world be expected, none of them had won the seventyseven votes necessary, equivalent to two-thirds. On Wednesday, March 13, after an initial whitish puff, the smoke at midday had been grayishblack, too, following the two ballots of the morning, that is, the second and third votes of the conclave. In this case, too, a rather predictable outcome. In the last hundred years, only Eugenio Pacelli had been elected on the third ballot, in March 1939. 共At that time, war was imminent, and the cardinals hastily chose Pope Ratti’s faithful Secretary of State.兲 Outside, the crowds, both of the media and of the faithful and the curious, were wondering what was going on beneath the roof of the Sistine Chapel, in front of that dramatic, stupendous fresco of the Last Judgment by Michelangelo. Or what was happening among the cardinals during lunch in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where they were staying. As of that afternoon, an election began to become more likely, despite the predictions of a long, difficult conclave. For Joseph Ratzinger, in April 2005, it had happened that way. He had been elected on the fourth ballot. That afternoon, however, the first vote, too, had been inconclusive. There had been no sign of white smoke between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. And so this meant that the cardinals had continued with another vote, the fourth of the day, the fifth of the conclave. The 8
habemus papam franciscum smoke, either white or black, was expected around 7:00 p.m. A few minutes before then, a seagull had perched on top of the chimney, and he had been seen to remain there, immobile, for more than half an hour, appearing also on the four big screens positioned on the square in front of the Vatican Basilica. “That is not a good sign,” said one priest, “because the bird that symbolizes the Spirit is the dove, certainly not the seagull. It means they have not yet decided.” And yet there was something that people were paying attention to. A growing expectation for which there was no external or human reason. At 7:05 p.m., white smoke that was at first almost transparent and then increasingly dense and immaculate began to issue from the chimney, a visible sign alerting the crowd, which started to applaud. The pope was elected, even though the world still did not know his name and his face. At last, at that very moment, it stopped raining. The wait seemed endless. Then, finally, the great curtains of the central loggia 共balcony兲 of Saint Peter’s opened, and the Cardinal Proto-Deacon Jean-Louis Tauran appeared before the crowd to announce the name of the newly elected pope: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum, habemus Papam, Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum Georgium Marium, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Bergoglio, qui sibi nomen imposuit Franciscum.” 9
francis: pope of a new world “Georgium Marium” would have been enough to understand that the man elected was the Cardinal of Buenos Aires, a Jesuit archbishop born in that city seventy-six years before, of a family of emigrants from the Piedmont. The name was unknown, and, at first, the people remained somewhat disconcerted. 共 Just as on another evening, that of October 16, 1978, when Cardinal Pericle Felici announced to the faithful that the new pope was Karol Wojtyła.兲 Padre Bergoglio, then. Everyone was expecting a young pontiff, and instead the cardinals had turned around and chosen one who was already old. Many were making predictions about the “Italian pope”, and instead the new Bishop of Rome arrived from the Southern Hemisphere of the world, from a far-off land. After retracing in the opposite direction the voyage that his family had made in 1929 when they embarked at the port of Genoa. Anyone who knows Bergoglio, his stature, his episcopate, immediately perceived the import of the event. This was made evident also by his choice of name: Francis. Upon hearing that name, the crowd burst into resounding applause. A Jesuit pope who took the name of the Poverello of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans. A sign of change, of a turning point. The call to be radically evangelical, a poor Church that journeys, builds, and professes Christ crucified, “the one Savior of all mankind and of all men”. 10
habemus papam franciscum A few more minutes passed, and lo and behold, the new pope appeared. It was only 8:10 p.m. For the first time in history, before the newly elected pope went out onto the balcony, a snippet of video by the Vatican Television Center showed Francis clothed in white vestments while waiting at the window. The pontiff was not wearing the red mozzetta lined with ermine that had been prepared, nor did he have the stole over his shoulders. Later we would learn that he did not want to use that regal garment trimmed with fur. The pectoral cross was not changed; it was the one that Jorge Mario Bergoglio always carried with him. It is made of plain metal, not gold. It is not set with any precious stones. The new pope emerged, surrounded by masters of ceremony and several cardinals; he wanted to have at his side the Vicar of Rome, Agostino Vallini. No sooner had he come out than he made a sign of greeting by raising his right hand, and then he remained immobile, looking toward the square. Without saying a thing, while the crowd applauded and shouted “Viva il papa!” Then finally he spoke and said: “Brothers and sisters, good evening . . .” A simple greeting, which recalled the last words of Benedict XVI, pronounced a moment before going back into the papal palace of Castel Gandolfo to remain “hidden from the world”. 11
francis: pope of a new world Francis continued: “You know that it was the duty of the Conclave to give Rome a Bishop. It seems that my brother Cardinals have gone to the ends of the earth to get one . . . but here we are . . . I thank you for your welcome. The diocesan community of Rome now has its Bishop. Thank you! And first of all, I would like to offer a prayer for our Bishop Emeritus, Benedict XVI. Let us pray together for him, that the Lord may bless him and that Our Lady may keep him.” He did not describe himself as pope, but recalled at first that he is Bishop of Rome, as, incidentally, John Paul II had done in his first appearance after his election. The pope is pope because he is Bishop of Rome, and not vice versa, as some individuals who exalt the splendor of the papal court sometimes seem to forget. Pope Bergoglio underscored this special, particular bond with the Church of the Eternal City. He was a bishop who spoke to the members of his diocese before addressing the world. Then, right afterward, Francis invited the people to pray for his predecessor, and together with the faithful he recited the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory be. He had the people pray, he had them recite the most frequently used prayers in the Christian faith. “And now,” he began to speak again after finishing the three prayers, “we take up this journey: Bishop 12
habemus papam franciscum and People. This journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches. A journey of fraternity, of love, of trust among us. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world, that there may be a great spirit of fraternity. It is my hope for you that this journey of the Church, which we start today, and in which my Cardinal Vicar, here present, will assist me, will be fruitful for the evangelization of this most beautiful city.” It was the moment for the blessing, the first apostolic blessing; the new pope had just asked the people to be blessed. He asked the people to pray for God’s blessing on their new bishop. An entirely new and unheard-of request, which sees the laity as playing a leading role, the people of God with their prayer for their new pastor. “And now I would like to give the blessing, but first I ask a favor of you: before the Bishop blesses his people, I ask you to pray to the Lord that he will bless me: the prayer of the people asking the blessing for their Bishop. Let us make, in silence, this prayer: your prayer over me.” Francis bowed his head, then spoke again and said: “Now I will give the Blessing to you and to the whole world, to all men and women of good will.” He put on the papal stole over his white habit and bestowed the blessing in Latin, granting the plenary 13
francis: pope of a new world indulgence “Urbi et Orbi” 共to the City and to the World兲. Then, after saluting with a hand gesture, he asked for the microphone again and concluded: “Thank you for your welcome. Pray for me. And until we meet again. We will see each other soon. Tomorrow I wish to go and pray to Our Lady, that she may watch over all of Rome. Good night and sleep well!” Having left the apostolic palace to return to Santa Marta, the Pope found himself in front of the big black car with the license plate “SCV 1” 关Vatican City State #1兴. But Francis did not take it. “I’ll get on the bus with the cardinals . . .” He would do the same the following morning to return to the Sistine Chapel to concelebrate Mass with the purple-robed prelates. They say that at dinner there was a festive, relaxed atmosphere. The Church finally had a new pope. The hundred fourteen temporary “prisoners” of the conclave had chosen a “prisoner” for life, the one who was to remain in the Vatican. Francis, greeting his confreres after dinner, looked at them and said, “May God forgive you for what you have done.” That same evening, the new pope telephoned the bishop emeritus, Benedict XVI. It is not the only telephone call he made. Francis also called some Roman friends at their home. And he immediately sent a message to the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Riccardo 14
habemus papam franciscum Di Segni: “On this day of my election as Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the Universal Church, I send you my cordial greetings, informing you that the solemn inauguration of my pontificate will take place on Tuesday, March 19. Trusting in the protection of the Most High, I strongly hope to be able to contribute to the progress of the relations that have existed between Jews and Catholics since Vatican Council II in a spirit of renewed collaboration and in service of a world that may always be more in harmony with the Creator’s will.” Francis began the first day of his pontificate as usual, rising very early to pray for a long time before the tabernacle. Then, as he had announced the previous evening, he intended to pray to Our Lady to keep and protect the Diocese of Rome. A little before eight, he appeared in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major for a private visit. In the large chapel in the left nave of the oldest church dedicated to Our Lady is preserved the image of Salus Populi Romani. The new pope entered, holding in one hand a bunch of flowers, and stopped to pray before the Marian icon. Then he went to the altar, beneath which is preserved a relic of the manger of the Nativity. Then to a chapel that is also called Sistine, to the altar where Saint Ignatius of Loyola celebrated his First Mass one Christmas Eve: it is a place fraught with symbolism for the Jesuits. Francis then prayed at the 15
francis: pope of a new world tomb of Saint Pius V, the pope of the Battle of Lepanto and of the Mass of the old rite—the Dominican pontiff, the one who inaugurated the tradition of white as the color for papal vestments because he wanted to keep his Dominican religious habit. After praying, Francis met the staff, the cardinals present, and the Dominican confessors. “Mercy, mercy, mercy . . .” This was his invitation to them as he greeted them one by one. “You are confessors, and therefore be merciful to souls. They need it”, he added. The new pope arrived in a car belonging to the Vatican police, not with the papal limousine. And he had an escort that was reduced to the minimum. The evening of his election, he had tried to speak with the director of the Domus Sacerdotalis Paulus VI, the house for clergy at via della Scrofa 70 in Rome, where he usually resided during his visits to the capital and where he had stayed for the two weeks before the conclave. On the days of the General Congregations, he always went on foot, both to and from. The Pope notified the director that he would come by to pick up his luggage and his personal effects and to pay the bill. And so it was. Francis arrived in the former palace just a few steps from the Piazza Navona accompanied by the Prefect of the Papal Household, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, and, looking at their dismayed expressions, which seemed to 16
habemus papam franciscum be trying to tell him, “Your Holiness, you are joking, you are really not going to pay?”, he explained to them: “Precisely because I am the pope I must set an example.” Then he decided to go up to the room personally to collect his things, and he packed his suitcase himself. As he was accustomed to doing, incidentally, on every trip. Because Jorge Mario Bergoglio was always a bishop without a secretary. The pope who refuses the big sedan and the retinue, who prefers to ride with his “brother cardinals”, who does not let anyone put ermine-trimmed garments on him, who does not think that he has risen to such a height as to prevent him from packing his bags himself and from demanding to pay the bill at the clergy house, like any other guest. So many little major signs. Today’s world requires the Church to witness to the Gospel more by her life than by her words. And it should be normal for a Christian to behave with sobriety, with simplicity. Some displays of the Church Triumphant perhaps had significance in the past. Certainly today they appear out of date and not in keeping with modern sensibilities. And in some cases, they even run the risk of giving a contrary witness. Instead of bringing people closer, they drive them away. Pope Francis, by being himself through and through, attracts. As proved by the extraordinary reaction of so many, many people in the world who are 17
francis: pope of a new world struck and fascinated by his extraordinary ordinariness and by his simplicity. “Surely this pope will create an unprecedented problem for Vatican security”, commented the Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican Press Office. He immediately added, however, “But those responsible for security are at the service of the Holy Father and know that they must adapt to his pastoral style.” The pope is not the one who has to adapt to certain exaggerated displays that in the name of security ran the risk of keeping Benedict XVI in a cage during the final years of his pontificate. The entourage are the ones who have to adapt to the style of the pontiff. A pontiff who is Bishop of Rome and who intends to establish a special relationship with his city and diocese.
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