Pope makes surprise phone call to Argentine well-wishers

Pope Francis surprised crowds of Catholic faithful who waited through the night for his inaugural Mass with a telephone call from the Vatican to the cathedral in Buenos Aires where he used to be archbishop.

 

Latin America’s first pope inaugurated his papacy on Tuesday with an address to an estimated 200,000 in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, calling for the defence of the weakest in society and of the environment.

In the hours before the Mass was due to start, thousands of faithful gathered around large television screens set up in the central square of Plaza de Mayo, overlooked by the cathedral and the famous pink presidential palace.

In his telephone message at 3:30 a.m. local time, Francis, or Francisco as he is known in the Spanish-speaking world, thanked the crowds for their prayers.

“Thank you for praying, for your prayers, which I need a lot,’’ he said. “I want to ask you a favour that we walk together, that we look after each other look after life, look after the family, nature.

“Don’t forget this bishop, who though far away, cares so much for you. Pray for me,” he said, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd.

Some of the worshippers slept outside wrapped in the yellow and white flag of the Vatican. Others prayed inside the cathedral.

“We’re so happy to have an Argentine pope, someone full of humility, intelligent, and who cares about everyone,’’ said housewife Mariana O’Connor, 51.

“I think this will mean a big change in the country, it will transmit peace and harmony, which is what we need in Argentina,” she told Reuters Television.

Jose Maria Di Paola, a priest who works in the slums and a friend of the pope, said Francis was popular with the millions of Argentines who live in poverty.

“Lots and lots of good memories of him and how he accompanied us come to mind,’’ he said in Plaza de Mayo.

“The people in the slums love him, they feel he is one of them.”

Meanwhile, the leader of the Catholic Church “must open his arms to protect all of God’s people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity,’’ Pope Francis said.

The Pope stated this on Tuesday in the homily during his inauguration mass at the Saint Peter Square in Vatican

He mentioned “especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love:the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison.”

Francis also urged the faithful to be caring.

“We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness,” he said, prompting applause from the crowd.

The Vatican estimated that 150,000 to 200,000 people were attending the inauguration mass of Pope Francis at Saint Peter’s Square.