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VATICAN CITY - Francis of Assisi began his saintly career following what he said was God's command: "Rebuild my Church." The new pope who took his name heard the same message from the cardinals who elected him.
The 13th-century Francis toured the Italian countryside repairing dilapidated chapels before realizing his mission was to change the whole Roman Catholic Church.
At 76, Pope Francis does not have as much time to get to work.
What the first Jesuit pope has is management experience in his native Argentina as head of the Jesuit province and chairman of the national bishops conference. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he dealt with everything from poverty to national politics.
"He's been at the top of the organization, but he's not been tamed by that," says Rev. James Hanvey, a Jesuit theologian. "In management speak, he's held to the core values. He wants us all to refocus on the core values."
Bergoglio's record shows he has strong convictions and is not afraid to take unpopular decisions. Jose Maria Poirier, editor of the lay Catholic monthly Criterio in Buenos Aires, said Church staff there described him as an "attentive, human and considerate" boss who is also demanding, has little patience for bureaucracy, and appoints talented assistants.
His predecessor Benedict's failure in this regard was partly to blame for the infighting that crippled the Curia bureaucracy and came to light in leaked Vatican documents last year.
Shakeup in the Curia
The first hint Francis gave of plans to change the Curia came three days after his election when he reappointed its top bureaucrats temporarily rather than permanently, as Benedict did after being elected in 2005.
With his humble style, the pope has begun deflating the imperial side of the Vatican, which resembles a Renaissance monarchy with an absolute sovereign, a coterie of close advisers and Curia departments that answer to the pope but often don't talk to each other.
Francis's references to himself simply as the bishop of Rome—the position from which his papal authority flows—hints at a willingness to involve the hierarchy around the globe in running the world's largest church.
Hanvey said a first step would be to call heads of national bishops conferences around the world to meet regularly in Rome as advisers. This was proposed by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), but Popes John Paul and Benedict used it so rarely that some bishops complained they were being "treated like altar boys" rather than senior colleagues.
The Curia needs regular cabinet meetings, more international staffers to overcome its domination by Italian clerics and a full work day rather than schedules that end in early afternoon, U.S. theologian George Weigel said.
It has only two women in senior posts, another aspect of the Curia critics say needs to be changed.
One overlooked fact is that the Curia, with just over 2,000 employees, is actually understaffed. "They're overwhelmed," said one senior figure from another religion in contact with the Curia, who asked not to be named.
Waiting for other signals
The opaque operations at the Vatican Bank, known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), were widely discussed among cardinals ahead of the conclave. Francis has criticized globalization and unfettered capitalism in the past, so he may take a critical look at the bank, but he has not indicated his plans.
The book "His Holiness," which published the leaked Vatican documents last year, detailed alleged corruption, inflated prices for work in the Vatican and clashes over the management at the bank.
The Council of Europe and the Bank of Italy have criticized it for lax anti-money-laundering controls and oversight, two areas where the Vatican says it is improving.
Critics also say the Church has not compensated victims of sexual abuse enough or held bishops sufficiently responsible for covering up cases. Francis would quickly tarnish his compassionate image if he did not go beyond the apologies and meetings with victims that Benedict pioneered.
Reputed to be a theological conservative, Francis has criticized Argentina's government for legalizing same-sex marriage, opposes abortion and women priests and defends the celibacy rule for male clergy. But he has also upbraided priests who refused to baptize babies of unmarried mothers. He has admitted to being "dazzled" by a young lady while in the seminary and said he helps priests who struggle with their vow of celibacy.
All this suggests a softer edge to some of his positions. "Benedict was clearly labelled" as a doctrinaire conservative, said Italian theologian Massimo Faggioli. "It will be easier for [Francis] to say things without the audience having a ready response." — Reuters
Pope Francis to live in Vatican guesthouse, not papal apartments
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has decided not to move into the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace, but to live in a suite in the Vatican guesthouse where he has been since the beginning of the conclave that elected him, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman.
"He is experimenting with this type of living arrangement, which is simple," but allows him "to live in community with others," both the permanent residents -- priests and bishops who work at the Vatican -- as well as guests coming to the Vatican for meetings and conferences, Father Lombardi said March 26.
The spokesman said Pope Francis has moved out of the room he drew by lot before the conclave and into Suite 201, a room that has slightly more elegant furnishings and a larger living room where he can receive guests.
The Domus Sanctae Marthae, the official name of the guesthouse, was built in 1996 specifically to house cardinals during a conclave.
Celebrating Mass March 26 with the residents and guests, Pope Francis told them he intended to stay, Father Lombardi said. The permanent residents, who had to move out during the conclave, had just returned to their old rooms.
Pope Francis has been there since his election March 13, taking his meals in the common dining room downstairs and celebrating a 7 a.m. Mass with Vatican employees in the main chapel of the residence.
He will be the first pope in 110 years not to live in the papal apartments on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace.
In 1903, St. Pius X became the first pope to live in the apartments overlooking St. Peter's Square. The apartments were completely remodeled by Pope Paul VI in 1964 and have undergone smaller modifications by each pope since, according to "Mondo Vaticano," a Vatican-published mini-encyclopedia about Vatican buildings, offices and tradition.
The large living room or salon of the apartment is located directly above the papal library where official audiences with visiting bishops and heads of state are held.
Pope Francis will continue to use the library for official audiences and to recite the Angelus prayer on Sundays and holy days from the apartment window overlooking St. Peter's Square, Father Lombardi said.
The apartments contain a chapel, an office for the pope and a separate office for his secretaries, the pope's bedroom, a dining room, kitchen and rooms for two secretaries and for the household staff.
When Pope Francis returned to the guesthouse after his election, Father Lombardi had said the move was intended to be short-term while a few small work projects were completed in the papal apartments. He said March 26 that all the work had been completed, but at least for the foreseeable future, Pope Francis would not move in.
The Domus Sanctae Marthae, named after St. Martha, is a five-story building on the edge of Vatican City.
While offering relative comfort, the residence is not a luxury hotel. The building has 105 two-room suites and 26 singles; about half of the rooms are occupied by the permanent residents. Each suite has a sitting room with a desk, three chairs, a cabinet and large closet; a bedroom with dresser, night table and clothes stand; and a private bathroom with a shower.
The rooms all have telephones and access to an international satellite television system.
The building also has a large meeting room and a variety of small sitting rooms. In addition to the dining room and the main chapel, it also has four private chapels, located at the end of hallways on the third and fifth floors of each of the building's two wings
Today is the new pope’s first Sunday as head of the Catholic Church.
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