This article was published in Domus Porta Fidei, http://domusportafidei.org/
Our Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I told you” (Jn 14:26). It is amazing to see how these words are a reality in the Church. At certain periods in history the Holy Spirit makes Himself visible to lead His Church in his path. This is the case of Ecumenical Councils, and especially Vatican Council II. But it also occurs during Conclaves, when the Holy Spirit inspires the hearts and minds of Cardinals to elect a new Pope. It is no accident that, as they process in the SistineChapel to start the Conclave, the Cardinals sing the hymn Veni Creator, Come Holy Spirit. Time and again, the Holy Spirit has shown His power in history, emphasizing His presence in the Church, even in the most difficult times. It happened again on March 13, 2013, when the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church was elected.
In the evening of that rainy day, I wanted to go home because I had been working all day at the Holy See Press Office on Via della Conciliazione. Full days since Benedict XVI resigned. But I decided to stay and wait for the upcomingfumata. However my plans and those of many other people changed. The fumata from the Sistine Chapel was white. All of the sudden the atmosphere in St. Peter’s square and the surrounding Vatican offices became joyful; it was like a sun shining at night. At that moment rivers of people started flowing quickly from the different streets into the already-crowded St. Peter’s Square. They were running to get in and receive the first blessing and words from the new Pope. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran finally appeared from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to announce: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam… Cardinalem Bergoglio.” People were crying, screaming, and applauding, especially the Argentineans. Moments later he appeared at the balcony and surprised us all: “Brothers and sisters, good evening!” We still could not believe it was Argentinean, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He 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.” He became a turning point in history: the first Jesuit, the first Latin American, the first one to take the name Francis, the first one to give visible signs of humility from the moment he stepped in the See of St. Peter: “I would like to give the blessing, but first – 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.”
In the days previous to the Conclave many of my colleagues, experts on Vatican issues (Vaticanisti), were considering many different names to succeed Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Very few of them talked about Cardinal Bergoglio.
The Church witnessed again that a Conclave is not a political game, or a mere question of political meetings, but a manifestation in the Church of the will of the Holy Spirit in a particular period of time. Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop from Vienna, expressed very well this reality: “It was a tremendous experience of the Holy Spirit. We were driven by the Holy Spirit to this man – he was sitting in the last corner of the Sistine Chapel: ‘This man he is the chosen one.’ I received at least two strong signs: one I can tell, the other was in the Conclave I can’t speak about – but real signs of the Lord giving me indication ‘he is the one.’”[1]
During the General Congregations of Cardinals, the meetings previous to the Conclave, Cardinal Bergoglio expressed very succinctly his vision of the Church. Probably those words got the attention of Cardinals. He mentioned 3 topics in four points. The first one was evangelization: “The Church is called to come out of herself and to go to the peripheries not only in the geographic sense but also the existential peripheries-Those of the mystery of sin, of pain, of injustice…”[2] The second point was on a “self-referent” Church: “When the Church does not come out of herself to evangelize, she becomes self-referent and then she gets sick.”[3] From those points Cardinal Bergoglio offered two images of Church: “The evangelizing Church that comes out of herself… and the worldly Church that lives within herself, of herself, for herself. This must give light to the possible changes and reforms which must be made for the salvation of souls.”[4] Finally he presented his thinking on the next Successor of St. Peter: “He must be a man, that from the contemplation and adoration of Jesus Christ, helps the Church to come out to the existential peripheries, that helps her to be the fruitful mother who lives from the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing.”[5]
After the election, the Holy Father gave his first audience to the press. At that meeting, we could witness closely Pope Francis’ character. He explained to us very spontaneously why he had chosen the name Francis. This fact is important to understand the tone of his pontificate: “During the election, I was seated next to the Archbishop Emeritus of São Paolo and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes… And when the votes reached two thirds, there was the usual applause, because the Pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss, and said: ‘Don’t forget the poor!’ And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi… He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man… How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!”[6]
During that audience we realized that Pope Francis is a very affable and down-to-earth person, like a simple parish priest, who likes hugging people, talking to them, asking them about family members. And he prefers to “speak from the heart.” He was not pretending to be different than how he was as Cardinal of Buenos Aires, as his sister Maria Elena Bergoglio said in an interview: “He was close to the people here in Argentina, but today he seems even closer and more able to express his feelings, which I suppose is the Holy Spirit helping him.”[7]
His simplicity and humility have attracted the attention from the media worldwide. He declined to live in the Appartamento, the apartment where Popes have lived since 1870 in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. In a letter sent to a friend of his, a priest from La Rioja, he explains why: “I’m fine [here] and I have not lost the peace before a totally amazing fact, which I consider is a gift from God. I try to keep the same way of being and acting, as I used to, in Buenos Aires. At my age if I changed, it would be certainly ridiculous. I did not want to live in the Apostolic Palace. I only go over there to work, and for the audiences. I stayed at Casa Santa Marta, a hostel, where we stayed during the Conclave. It hosts bishops, priests, and lay people. I am visible to the people, and do a normal life-[I celebrate] public Mass in the morning, [I] eat in the common dining room with everyone, and so forth. All this makes me feel well, and in that way I do not remain isolated.”[8]
His sister said about Pope Francis: “He’s got a strong character, and he’s also got a deep belief in his convictions that’s unbreakable. Nobody is going to be able to force him to compromise on what he believes in.”
Mass Media has a great deal of sympathy for Pope Francis’ way of being. He is already changing the public image of the Church, at least according to the press. But more importantly, he is applying some of the points he envisioned during the General Congregations; in other words, he is setting the tone for “the possible changes and reforms which must be made for the salvation of souls.”[10] In fact, on April 13 the Secretary of State sent a press release: “The Holy Father Francis, taking up a suggestion that emerged during the General Congregations preceding the Conclave, has established a group of cardinals to advise him in the government of the universal Church and to study a plan for revising the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, ‘Pastor Bonus.’”I personally would say, he is a man of courage. It took courage to say no to the Papal Apartment, no to the limousine, no to some pre-prepared speeches, and no to the red shoes…to go the essence: to evangelize and to rebuild the Church, as he said during the General Congregations. By doing so Pope Francis shows his detachment from what he considers to be unnecessary formalities. But as a man of courage he has also adapted to the necessary requirements of his ministry. Pope Francis would love to go out to the parishes and hear confessions, to talk to the people, to have lunch with them: “When I go to hear confessions… I still can’t, because to go out to hear confessions… from here it’s impossible to go out, but that’s another problem.” He understands the security requirements of his Petrine ministry. However every now and then he surprises his friends – and the Gendarmeria Vaticana, Vatican’s Security Corps- by making some visits to friends when they are in the hospital. This was the case of Cardinals Jorge Mejía and Lozano Barragan.
At 7:00 a.m. Pope Francis celebrates Mass with a group of about fifty people at the Chapel of Casa Santa Marta. Vatican’s employees and prelates from different parts of the world attend this Mass. Many times he personally greets the people at the end of it, and chats briefly with them. In his short conversations, he always asks for prayers. I consider that to pray for him is one of the best services we can render to the Church. He has said so in private and in public. On March 19, 2013, the day of the inauguration of his pontificate, the Holy Father made a phone call to Argentina. Thousands of people outside Buenos’ Aires Cathedral, overlooking Plaza de Mayo,gathered to watch live the inauguration mass from Rome. All of them were able to listen to his voice through speakers. He told them: “Do not forget this bishop, who is far from you, but who loves you so much. Pray for me.”
[1] John Binghman, “Pope Francis Elected after Supernatural ‘Signs’ in the Conclave, says Cardinal,” The Telegraph, May 14, 2013.
[2] Cardinal Jorge M. Bergoglio, “Bergoglio’s Intervention: A Diagnosis of the Problems in the Church,” Vatican Radio, March 27, 2013.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Pope Francis, “Address to the Representatives of Media,” March 16, 2013.
[7] John L. Allen, “Pope’s sister: Francis ‘Plenty Tough Enough’ to Lead,” National Catholic Register, April 3, 2013.
[8] Corresponsalía, “Carta del Papa Francisco a un cura de La Rioja: ‘Hago vida normal,’” El Clarín, May 28, 2013.
[9] John L. Allen, ibid.
[10] Cardinal Jorge M. Bergoglio, ibid.