Unlike his predecessor, Benedict XVI, the 76-year-old Pope Francis put his humility on display during his first day as pontiff, on Thursday, stopping by his hotel to pick up his luggage and pay the bill himself.
This proves that the appointment of Pope Francis wasn't just a change of face to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide, but a complete turnaround of tradition.
"It seems to me for now what is certain is it's a great change of style, which for us isn't a small thing," Rubin said, recalling how the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio would celebrate Masses with ex-prostitutes in Buenos Aires, said Francis' authorized biographer, in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.
He also is expected, according to Yahoo, to outline some of his priorities as pope in the homily. The Vatican said it would likely be delivered in Italian, another break from the traditional-minded Benedict whose first homily as pope was in Latin.
For a man known for his work with the poor in Buenos Aires, which gave him the nickname "slum pope," by the locals, it is clear that He remembers where He has come from and why people adore Him.
"Four years ago, I was at my worst and I needed help. When the Mass started he knelt down and washed my feet. It hit me hard. It was such a beautiful experience," said Cristian Marcelo Reynoso, 27, a garbage collector trying to kick a cocaine addiction through Pope Francis's church's rehab program, reported ABC.
He added, "When I saw the news on the TV, I began screaming with joy, and look, I'm still trembling," Reynoso said. "El Chaval (The Dude) is so humble. He's a fan of San Lorenzo (the soccer club), like me. You talk to him like a friend," according to ABC.
"Francis displayed that same sense of simplicity and humility immediately after his election, shunning the special sedan that was to transport him to the hotel so he could ride on the bus with other cardinals, and refusing even an elevated platform from which he would greet them, according to U.S. Cardinal Timothy Dolan," according to Yahoo.
"I think we're going to see a call to Gospel simplicity," said U.S. Cardinal Donald Wuerl. "He is by all accounts a very gentle but firm, very loving but fearless, a very pastoral and caring person ideal for the challenges today," stated Yahoo.
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