Pope Francis in front of his Renault 4L. (Credit: AFP)
"A poor Church for the poor." From the moment he was elected to the papacy, Jorge Bergoglio sought to emphasize the need to reform the curia and to be closer to the poor and less concerned with material matters.His choice of the name Francis, in reference to Saint Francis of Assisi, who not only took a vow of poverty at the start of the thirteenth century but also celebrated his “marriage to Lady Poverty,” followed the same logic.Backing up his words with actions, Francis declined the traditional liturgical attire of the supreme pontiff, keeping for example his black shoes instead of the papal red ones. He refused to move into the apostolic palace and instead chose a modest 70-square-meter apartment on the second floor of the Santa Marta residence at the Vatican. He gave up the official limousine, getting around the Vatican in...
"A poor Church for the poor." From the moment he was elected to the papacy, Jorge Bergoglio sought to emphasize the need to reform the curia and to be closer to the poor and less concerned with material matters.His choice of the name Francis, in reference to Saint Francis of Assisi, who not only took a vow of poverty at the start of the thirteenth century but also celebrated his “marriage to Lady Poverty,” followed the same logic.Backing up his words with actions, Francis declined the traditional liturgical attire of the supreme pontiff, keeping for example his black shoes instead of the papal red ones. He refused to move into the apostolic palace and instead chose a modest 70-square-meter apartment on the second floor of the Santa Marta residence at the Vatican. He gave up the official limousine, getting around the Vatican...
