This morning, more than 200,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square in Rome for the inauguration Mass of Pope Francis.
The Pope marked the start of the new pontificate with a long tour around St. Peter’s Square on an open jeep. He waved and smiled at groups of people from all over the world, hoisting their banners in the square. He got out of the jeep to say hello to a disabled person, then stopped again to kiss two children held out to him from the crowd and, at some point, he also blessed the faithful, smiled and seemed to mouth the word ‘ciao’.
The religious celebration began at St. Peter’s tomb, where the Piscatory ring and the Pallium woolen vestment of the papal office were conferred to the new pope. Pope Francis, formerly Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, chose a model of Piscatory ring made of gold-plated silver, while in the past it was typically cast in gold for each pope. The ring served as the official signet to seal papal documents until 1842. The fact that Pope Francis chose to have a silver ring has been seen by many as a sign that he is aiming to be the “pope of the poor”.
See on italymag.co.uk
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