The newly elected Pope Francis I gave his inaugural mass this morning in Vatican City, after a two-hour installation ceremony attended by heads of state from all across the world.
The new pope is originally from Argentina, the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere or the global South, and the first non-European pope in over 1,200 years. He has stressed the importance of humility, for himself and the Church, and is expected to focus on the plight of the poor. During his homily, Francis said he would "embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important."
Francis proved himself a man with close ties to the people, as he eschewed several traditions during his installation. When traveling through the assembled crowds before the inauguration ceremony, Francis rode in an open-air carriage, without the bulletproof glass that has come to be associated with the "Popemobile" in the 30 years since the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II.
Francis is the first pope since then to do away with the shield on his vehicle. He wandered through the crowd flanked only by a few security guards. At one point, he stopped to bless a sick man in the crowd, kissing him on the head.
During the inauguration ceremony, cardinals presented Francis with the Ring of the Fisherman, which bears the image of Saint Peter, the first pope, casting nets, for Jesus proclaimed him a "fisher of men."
But the copy now worn by Francis is silver, not gold, and is many years old, rather than designed and forged anew specifically for him, as is customary.
Francis also made an early morning phone call to his home diocese in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where several thousand of the faithful had held an all-night vigil as their compatriot prepared to become pope.
The installation of Francis was attended by world leaders -- those famous, powerful or notorious.
Many European royalty were in the crowd, as was Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a longtime foe of Francis when he was the bishop of Buenos Aires. American Vice President Joe Biden, a Catholic attended, as did Robert Mugabe, the current dictator of Zimbabwe, who continues to rule even after decades of human rights abuses.
Francis I is now official, and he begins the long labor of rehabilitating the Church's reputation.
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