The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said that Pope Francis had spoken by telephone with Benedict on Wednesday evening. He called it “an act of great significance and pastorality” that Francis’s first act as pope was to offer a prayer for his predecessor.
Father Thomas Rosica of Canada, another Vatican spokesman, recalled that he had met the former Cardinal Bergoglio a decade ago during preparations for World Youth Day in Canada, and that the cardinal told him that he lived very simply, in an apartment Buenos Aires, and had sold the diocese’s mansion. “He cooks for himself and took great pride in telling us that, and that he took the bus to work” rather than riding in a car, Father Rosica said.
President Obama was among the first world leaders to congratulate Francis in a message that emphasized the pope’s humble roots and New World background.
“As a champion of the poor and the most vulnerable among us, he carries forth the message of love and compassion that has inspired the world for more than two thousand years — that in each other we see the face of God,” Mr. Obama said in the message released by the White House. “As the first pope from the Americas, his selection also speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world, and alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the United States share the joy of this historic day.”
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