Pope Francis appears for the first time on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 13. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)
Much has already been made of the fact that the new
pontiff, Pope Francis, typically rode the bus to work as cardinal
archbishop of Buenos Aires, and that he lived in a small apartment and did his
own cooking. Apparently he also rode the bus back from St. Peter’s with the
rest of the cardinals after having been elected pope. Cardinal Timothy Dolan told reporters at a
press conference today:
“So we take the buses over and cardinals kind of wait outside
to greet the new Holy Father as he comes back to Doma Santa Marta…and as the
last bus pulls up, guess who gets off the bus? Pope Francis,” Dolan said. “So I
guess he told the driver, ‘That’s OK. I’ll just go with the guys on the bus.’”
According
to Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, Pope Francis phoned Pope Emeritus
Benedict shortly after his election.
Fr.
Lombardi also disclosed a few details about the first days of Pope Francis’
pontificate. From
Vatican Radio:
Fr. Lombardi confirmed that the Mass for the inauguration of
the Petrine Ministry will be held March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, at
09:30 Rome time.
He also confirmed that the Mass for the closure of Conclave
will be at 17:00 Thursday in the Sistine Chapel. On Friday, at 11 a.m., there
will be an audience with the College of Cardinals in the Clementine Hall. [On]
Saturday 11 a.m. Pope Francis will have audience with all journalists and media
covering conclave- an announcement greeted with a round of applause in the
briefing hall. And finally on Sunday Pope Francis will recite Angelus at noon.
Thursday, Pope Francis will make a private visit to a sanctuary
of Our Lady on Thursday March 14th, but details will be released only when this
visit is over.
Fr. Lombardi also said that Pope Emeritus
Benedict will
not attend his successor’s installation Mass.
People celebrate the election of a new pope at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 13. (CNS photo/Enrique Marcarian, Reuters)