Posted on 03/17/2013 7:05:34 AM PDT by RummyChick
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Breaking with tradition, Pope Francis delivered off-the-cuff remarks about God's power to forgive instead of reading from a written speech for the first Sunday window appearance of his papacy.
He also spoke only in Italian - beginning with "buon giorno" (Good day) and ending with "buon pranzo" (Have a good lunch) - instead of greeting the faithful in several languages as his last few predecessors had done.
His comments and humor delighted a crowd of more than 150,000 in St. Peter's Square, drawing cheers and laughter.
But Francis did tweet in English and other languages, saying: "Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me. "
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
The Pope is going to be a security nightmare.
In this photo provided by the Vatican paper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis greets faithful from a side gate of the Vatican, Sunday, March 17, 2013.
“Inside a vast hall in the Holy See on Saturday, Pope Francis was greeting a procession of well-wishers when a visually impaired radio journalist with a guide dog approached. Without skipping a beat, the new pontiff smiled, leaned over and blessed the golden retriever, eliciting surprised chuckles from the crowd.
The moment captured the emerging story line of a papacy in the early stages of transformation by the first New World pope. As he eschews the trappings of his exalted office — forgoing the use of the red papal cape in public and mingling directly with cardinals rather than receiving them formally from an elevated white chair — Francis is already building a reputation here as “the casual pontiff.” “
I worry about a JP I repetition. Prayers up.
Yeah. If you forget history you are bound to repeat it.
If John-PaulII were alive he would tell Francis to STAY IN THE POPEMOBILE!
Lol, I think he already is!
John Paul II was not happy about the security measures. He grudgingly accepted them after the failed assassination.
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