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What is it that makes Pope Francis different to previous Popes?
Slide 1: These pictures tell us a story. We see Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict making a dramatic entrance, full of colour and charm. Here we have Pope Francis who steps onto the balcony, very humble and maybe a little nervous, “May God forgive you what you've done,” were the words newly elected Pope Francis incorporated into his address of fellow cardinals over dinner, soon after his election and during his first appearance as Pope.
Slide 2: A bird stands on the chimney of the Sistine Chapel waiting for the white smoke to appear, the white smoke which indicates a new Pope is elected. It is reported that the bird remained perched there for a long time and just moments after the bird flew away, white smoke appeared.
Slide 3: The crowds cheered 'Habemus Papam’: We have a Pope. Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's square to witness history and to greet the Successor of St. Peter. When he stepped out into the balcony, he became Latin America's first Pope, and the first to choose the name Francis.
Slide 4: Who is this man? Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936. Among many details, points to note include:
He studied Chemistry and worked as a chemical technician before joining the seminary.
When it comes to personal tastes, he admires artists, Caravaggio and Marc Chagall.
In terms of the arts; he is a fan of Mozart and Bach. Dostoyevsky and Hölderlin are his favorite authors and La Strada, by Federico Fellini, is his favourite movie.
Slide 5: Before his first blessing, Francis asked the faithful to pray for him, as he bowed his head in silence. This was the start of something special.
Slide 7: The Pope has used a white chair, instead of the traditional throne seat. Just a few days after being elected, the Pope was given the keys to the Papal apartments, but he didn't actually move in. He has been reported to answer some letters he receives from people by phoning or writing back personally. He speaks to the people with great conviction and he uses words that reach out to everyone. He says it as it is.
Slide 8 and 11: Since being elected, Pope Francis has shown us he is a man with a heart that is open to God and all people. He tries to do his normal everyday things. He called his dentist to cancel his appointments. He called the newsstand where he routinely purchased the newspaper, to explain that he wouldn't be stopping by any time soon to buy the newspaper. Pope Francis is a man of many talents and during his college days he worked as a bouncer!
Slide 9: He is the 266th Pope and here we see him as priest greeting John Paul II and as cardinal greeting Benedict XVI. He was the second choice of the conclave that elected Joseph Ratzinger, known as Benedict XV When he was elected Pope he said “First of all I would say a prayer pray for our Bishop Emeritus Benedict XVI. Let us all pray together for him, that the Lord bless him and Our Lady protect him.” He has made visits to greet Pope Benedict emeritus and prayed with him.
Slide 10 and 11: Simplicity, Approachability, Tenderness and Service are clearly what Pope Francis is about and when he served as a priest in Argentina he cooked his own meals, took public transport. After he was elected Pope he took the bus with other cardinals and went straight to the guesthouse he stayed in during the papal conclave and paid his bill.
Slide 13 and 14: Pope Francis loves animals just like St. Francis Assisi and he said “Take good care of creation. St. Francis wanted that. People occasionally forgive, but nature never does. If we don't take care of the environment, there's no way of getting around it.”
Slide 14: Pope Francis thanks the Journalists: ALESSANDRO FORLANIJournalist. Rai (Italy) who is blind for all the work he does and the journalist reported, “The Pope asked me, 'what's your name, what do you do?' “And then I asked him if he could give a special blessing for my daughter, for my wife and he did. And then he thought about my dog saying, 'and one for the dog,' He reached down and patted my dog.”
Slide 15: Pope Francis is a football fan and he welcomed his favourite football team, San Lorenzo, to the Vatican. the Buenos Aires football club, which the Pope has supported since he was a boy,
Slide 16: The Pontiff donated the Harley Davidson motorbike (seen here on the bottom right) to the Caritas Roma charity, which works on behalf of the Catholic Church to support the poor. Now all the money raised will go on renovating a hostel and a soup kitchen in the Italian capital. The superbike, which has the signature 'Francis' on its petrol tank, was expected to fetch between around £10,000 and £12,000, but an anonymous phone buyer was successful with a 241,500 euro bid - the equivalent of just over £200,000.
Slide 16: (Image on left) Pope Francis has been given a 20-year-old Renault 4 car with 300,000km on the clock to drive himself around the Vatican. The Pope has urged officials to avoid using expensive limousines in an attempt to encourage austerity in the Catholic Church.
Slide 17: During the summer of 2013 he attended World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Crowds of young people gathered on Copacabana beach to see the Pope. When greeting the crowds there, he said: I don't have silver or gold, but I bring with me the most precious gift: Jesus Christ. When he came back to Rome he was so thankful to meet the youth, that instead of leaving flowers in honour of Mary at her altar, he left a beach ball from Rio as a symbol of joy and thanksgiving.
Slide 18: Pope Francis has spoken frequently about Christian unity and has met with many members of Christian and non-Christian churches. He said, our differences make the Church beautiful. “Many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, but respecting the conscience of each person, I give you my blessing, knowing that each one of you is the son of God. God bless you!”
Slide 19: During his visit to Brazil he encouraged the natives that the amazon be treated as a garden and protected, again very much a sign of why he chose the name Francis.
Slide 20: In his first interview, the Pope highlighted the role of the Church. He believes ministers of the Church should be ministers of mercy.He also spoke about more controversial issues like homosexuality and divorced people who remarry. As a whole, he highlighted that the Church needs to stay away from so called limiting theories.He described himself as a sinner. He also shared a little of his own personal story: In his prayer book, he carries his grandmother’s testament, which he considers as a type of prayer. His missionary spirit, led him to become a Jesuit. He added that he likes the Order's sense of community and its discipline, but admitted that he is undisciplined.
Slide 21: During holy week of 2013 he visited Casal del Marmo jail for minors and washed and kissed the feet of twelve offenders to commemorate Jesus’ gesture of humility and service.
Slide 23: On January 12th, soon after the feast day of the Baptism of Our Lord (January 7th), Pope Francis baptized 32 babies in the Sistine Chapel. “Today the choir will sing but the most beautiful choir of all is that of the infants who will make a noise… Some will cry because they are not comfortable or they are hungry. If they are hungry, mothers, feed them, without thinking twice. Because they are the most important people here.”
Slide 40: Pope Francis asked that this statue be removed from public display as he does not wish to be viewed as a superhero, he said it was offensive to describe him in those terms and insisted that he is just a “normal person”… “Sigmund Freud used to say, if I’m not mistaken, that in every idealization there is an attack. Depicting the pope as a kind of superman, a kind of star, seems to me offensive. The pope is a man who laughs, cries, sleeps calmly and has friends like everyone else. A normal person.”
(Some slides have notes added throughout where explanation is necessary.)