Pope Francis speaks as he leads a Pentecost vigil mass in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican
Credit: Reuters

Pope Francis shared personal moments with 200,000 people on Saturday, telling them he sometimes nods off while praying at the end of a long day and that it “breaks my heart” that the death of a homeless person is not news.

Francis, who has made straight talk and simplicity a hallmark of his papacy, made his unscripted comments in answers to questions by four people at a huge international gathering of Catholic associations in St. Peter’s Square.

But he outdid himself in passionately discussing everything from the memory of his grandmother to his decision to become a priest, from political corruption to his worries about a Church that too often closes in on itself instead of looking outward.

“If we step outside of ourselves, we will find poverty,” he said, repeating his call for Catholics to do more to seek out those on the fringes of society who need help the most,” he said from the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Today, and it breaks my heart to say it, finding a homeless person who has died of cold, is not news. Today, the news is scandals, that is news, but the many children who don’t have food – that’s not news. This is grave. We can’t rest easy while things are this way.”

The crowd, most of whom are already involved in charity work, interrupted him often with applause.

“We cannot become starched Christians, too polite, who speak of theology calmly over tea. We have to become courageous Christians and seek out those (who need help most),” he said.

To laughter from the crowd, he described how he prays each day before an altar before going to bed.

“Sometimes I doze off, the fatigue of the day makes you fall asleep, but he (God) understands,” he said.

CRISIS OF VALUES

Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, said the world was going through not just an economic crisis but a crisis of values.

“This is happening today. If investments in banks fall, it is a tragedy and people say ‘what are we going to do?’ but if people die of hunger, have nothing to eat or suffer from poor health, that’s nothing. This is our crisis today. A Church that is poor and for the poor has to fight this mentality,” he said.

Many in the crowd planned to stay in the square overnight to pray and prepare for Francis’ Mass on Sunday, when the Catholic Church marks Pentecost, the day it teaches that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles.

On Saturday morning, Francis met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and discussed Europe’s economic crisis.

Apparently responding to his criticism of a heartless “dictatorship of the economy” earlier in the week, Merkel, who is up for re-election in September, later called for stronger regulation of financial markets.

On Thursday, Francis appealed in a speech for world financial reform, saying the global economic crisis had made life worse for millions in rich and poor countries.

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In 50 years, they could be the next pope.

As Pope Francis was selected as the next leader of the Catholic Church, and officially installed at the Vatican today, 20-somethings in Queens who are studying to be priests themselves were cheering him on.

These young men are some of about 70 students studying at the Cathedral Seminary House of Formation in Douglaston, Queens, all who felt the calling to dedicate the rest of their life to priesthood.

In many ways, the campus seems like a normal college atmosphere — a gym to shoot hoops, a common room with jackets slung over chairs.

The difference? A portrait of Pope Emeritus Benedict watches over their ping-pong games, and most college students aren’t up by 6:45 a.m., in slacks and collared shirts, for prayer.

Brooklyn native Robert Mema, whose dorm room includes a coffeemaker and nativity set, acknowledged that many peers second-guess their decisions to commit to a life with pillars like celibacy.

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  Queens seminary students study to be priests

“What? You’re crazy,” is a common reaction, said Mema, who studied criminal justice before starting seminary. “We get that a lot.”

But he waved away an image of locked-in serious souls.

“This is not a monastery,” Mema said. “But we’re also not a frat house. We’re just ordinary, regular men.”

Ordinary men with an extraordinary challenge: amid the church’s sex-abuse scandal and a priest shortage, the three are entering the priesthood in a time when others might shy away.

“We’re going to have to really know our faith and defend its doctrines,” Adan Ruiz, 25, said.

All stressed any challenges were worth the clarity they say God gave them about their futures.

“It was a little scary, all the things you leave behind,” Carlos Limongi, 29, said. “But in contrast to that, all the things we gain. … In the priesthood, we’re opening ourselves to so much more.”

Praising the new pope

Students called the selection of Pope Francis exciting. “I think it’s an amazing time for the church,” Mema told Metro. Ruiz added that the new pope inspired him: “approachable, honest, humble, he’s paying for his bills himself,” he said. “I’m happy about that.” When the pope was selected last week, it was a sports-watching-like atmosphere, they said. “I was napping, and I heard someone yell,” Ruiz said. Then, after the white smoke appeared, students gathered around the television. “We were watching it for three hours,” Mema said.

Pondering whether to be a priest

“I can’t tell a specific moment in time,” said Mema of deciding to be a priest. “Being in the seminary, things became much clearer.” For Limongi, the slow, quiet process began as he became more involved in his church. He didn’t tell anyone he was thinking of being a priest, even denying the notion when people would suggest it. “The Lord told me, again, ‘I’m calling you,’” he recounted. So then, he said he thought, “Before I start getting scared, I’ve got to follow God’s will.” Previously, he studied architecture and lived in Washington Heights. For Ruiz, who had studied linguistics and communication disorders, a busted relationship helped nudge him toward God. He began going to mass more and eventually found his way to Douglaston, where he just began classes in January.

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New Yorkers of all stripes lauded the choice of pope today.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., called the election “an incredible moment.”

“The Catholic Church plays an important role in the social and civic fabric of the Bronx and New York City, and today I congratulate the borough’s, and in fact the world’s, Catholic community on this history-making decision,” he said.

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  PHOTOS: Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina elected Pope

Rep. Nydia Velazquez said she appreciated that the pope was chosen from Latin America.

“It is a source of pride to see the first election of a pope from Latin America,” she said. “Equally important, Pope Francis has a distinguished record of working to comfort and assist the poor, while personally leading a humble life inspired by Christ.”

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan released a statement saying he was praying for the new leader.

“The election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who has taken the name Francis I, marks a great milestone in our church,” he said in his statement. “As successor to Peter, our first pope, Pope Francis I stands as the figure of unity for all Catholics wherever they reside.”

His statement continued, “The bishops of the United States thank God for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the inspired choice of the College of Cardinals. With joy in our hearts, we declare “Ad Multos Annos!” (For many years!)”

Metro also talked with worshippers at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church at 22 Barclay Street in downtown Manhattan to get their reaction after the new Pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, of Argentina was elected today.

“It wasn’t Archbishop Dolan? I thought it would be him. Well, that’s great. That’s completely God’s plan because no one predicted it. The Holy Spirit planned it. I’d like the new pope to follow the principles in the biblical scriptures.”

Johnson John, 48, Bellrose, Queens

“For me, it would have been better if it were Cardinal Dolan. I don’t know anything about the new Argentinean pope.”

Maria Nela, 61, Flushing, Queens

“I hope he’s ecumenical like John and he reaches out to different faiths. I also hope he has a personality that’s warmer than Benedict.”

Steve Henry, 53, Newark, NJ

“The Catholic Church has been here longer than you and I have ever known so I don’t think it really matters that he’s from Argentina.”

Daniel Arens, 46, Long Island

“I didn’t even know that they had chosen the new pope. Hey, it’s someone from a different country than usual so that’s good. I hope that the church becomes more of a positive force and that they can eradicate the scandals that have been following him.”

Annie Bulgin, 28, Williamsbridge, Bronx

Evelyn Cheng contributed reporting.

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Update: Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope on Wednesday to lead the Roman Catholic Church, a prelate announced to huge crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

He took the name Pope Francis, the cardinal said.

Cardinals elected Bergoglio on just the second day of a secret conclave to find a successor to Pope Benedict, who abdicated unexpectedly last month.

Original story

Credit: Getty Images

White smoke poured from the roof of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday and the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica pealed, signaling that cardinals had chosen a new pope to lead the troubled Roman Catholic Church after only five ballots.

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  PHOTOS: Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina elected Pope

The decision by 115 cardinal electors came sooner than many faithful expected because of the large number of possible frontrunners identified before the vote to replace Pope Benedict, who resigned in February.

The name of the new leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics was expected to be announced in around half an hour from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The secret conclave began on Tuesday night with a first ballot in the Renaissance splendor of the chapel and four ballots were held on Wednesday. The white smoke indicated the new pontiff had obtained the required two thirds majority in the fifth ballot.

Following a split ballot when they were first shut away amid the chapel’s Renaissance splendor on Tuesday evening, the cardinal electors held a first full day of deliberations on Wednesday. Black smoke rose after the morning session to signal no decision.

Cheers arose from hundreds of people sheltering from incessant rain under a sea of umbrellas in St. Peter’s Square as the white smoke billowed from the narrow chimney.

The cardinals had faced a tough task in finding a leader capable of overcoming crises caused by priestly child abuse and a leak of secret papal documents that uncovered corruption and rivalry inside the Church government or Curia.

The wave of problems are thought to have contributed to Pope Benedict’s decision to become the first pontiff in 600 years to resign.

The last four popes were all elected within two or three days.

Seven ballots have been required on average over the last nine conclaves. Benedict was clear frontrunner in 2005 and elected after only four ballots.

The cardinals were shut inside for the secret election under Michelangelo’s luminous frescos on Tuesday after a day of religious pomp and prayer to prepare for the task.

The initial inconclusive vote about two hours later was seen as a way of filtering the choice down to frontrunners for discussions among the supporters of the various candidates.

No hint emerged before the pope was chosen. The Vatican had taken precautions, including electronic jamming devices, to prevent any leaks from inside the conclave.

The new pope will take up a burden that Benedict declared in February was beyond his physical capabilities.

Apart from an child abuse scandals and the “Vatileaks” case, the Church has been shaken by rivalry from other churches, the advance of secularism, especially in its European heartland, and problems in the running the Vatican bank.

The former head of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, is attending the conclave despite calls for him to stay away because of a sex abuse case that led to his censure by his successor Archbishop Jose Gomez in January. He was stripped of all public and administrative duties as punishment.

On Tuesday, lawyers for the victims in four sex abuse cases said the diocese, Mahony and an ex-priest had agreed to pay nearly $10 million to settle. Mahony was accused of helping a confessed pedophile priest escape prosecution.

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As thousands of faithful gather in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican to watch smoke pour out of the chimney announcing whether or not a decision for a new Pope has been made, the chimney itself has a few things to say.

A joke Twitter account for @SistineChimney was created back in February when the Pope announced he was resigning. With the cardinals gathered in the Vatican this week, the Twitter account is fired up, pun intended.

Jumping on the Harlem Shake trend, the first tweet of the day reads: “Rumor has it a Conclave Shake meme is in the works once they lock the doors #conclave #Pope”

The Twitter feed doesn’t shy away from poking fun at Americans, and more specifically American tourists.

“btw, while I waited for my moment today, I counted 457 fanny packs in the crowd. AMERICA IN DA HOUSE! #conclave #Vatican”

Since no conclave in the modern era has chosen a Pope on its first day we can expect more funny tweets in the days to come, if the thick black smoke doesn’t choke the chimney that is.

“*COUGH* *COUGH* … all this black smoke is makin’ me sick!”

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this account to see if it breaks the news of the next Pope. One thing’s certain, though. According to @SistineChimney, actor Tom Hanks is out of the running.

“Sadly, Tom Hanks didn’t get enough votes today – but the majority of the room loved him in Angels & Demons.”

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

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Vatican workers hoisted a chimney onto the roof of the Sistine Chapel on Saturday in readiness for the conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals that will elect a successor to Pope Benedict.

The conclave begins on Tuesday, with the sequestered cardinals using the chimney to tell the outside world whether or not they have chosen a new leader – black smoke signifying no decision and white smoke announcing a new pontiff.

The rust-colored pipe was attached above the terracotta tiles of the roof of the frescoed chapel clearly visible from the nearby St. Peter’s Square, where traditionally thousands of believers gather to see how the secret balloting is progressing.

Although no clear favorites have emerged to take the helm of the troubled 1.2-billion-member Church, the conclave is expected to be wrapped up within just a few days.

No conclave has lasted than more than five days in the past century, with many finishing within two or three days. Pope Benedict was elected within barely 24 hours in 2005 after just four rounds of voting.

Benedict triggered the election last month with his shock decision to abdicate because of his increasingly frail health – the first pontiff to step down in six centuries.

He leaves his successor a sea of troubles – including seemingly never-ending sex abuse scandals, rivalry and strife inside the Vatican bureaucracy, a shortage of priests and a rise of secularism in its European strongholds.

Inside the chapel, workmen were carrying out the final preparations to make the room, one of the most famous in the world, ready for the conclave.

Two stoves were installed and attached to a single flue leading up to the roof. One, made of cast iron and used in every conclave since 1939, will be used to burn ballots.

The second stove is an electronic one with a key, a red start button and seven tiny temperature indicator lights. Flares will be electronically ignited inside it to send out either white or black smoke.

Workmen on Saturday were also putting the finishing touches to specially built rows of tables where the cardinals will sit facing each under the gaze of Jesus in Michelangelo’s massive Last Judgment panel on the wall behind the altar.

POSSIBLE PONTIFFS

Nearly 150 red-hatted cardinals held a sixth day of preliminary meetings, known as “general congregations”, on Saturday to discuss the many challenges besieging their Church and to sketch the ideal profile of the next pope.

Some 115 of their number – all those aged under 80 – will enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to start the formal voting process. One ballot will be held on the first day, with four votes a day thereafter until one of their number receives a two-thirds majority, or 77 votes.

The names of several possible front runners have been mentioned by church officials ever since Benedict’s resignation.

Amongst the most mentioned are Italy’s Angelo Scola, Brazil’s Odilo Pedro Scherer and Canada’s Marc Ouellet. U.S. cardinals such as Timothy Dolan or Sean O’Malley have also been cited as “papabile”.

With the vast majority of Catholics now living outside Europe, there is growing pressure for a pontiff from another part of the world.

Many Vatican observers believe a Latin American, Asian or African pope could bring attention to the poverty of the southern hemisphere in the same way the Polish-born John Paul put a spotlight on the East-West divide.

“I think it is important to have someone who comes from a place where the Church is dynamic and lively,” South Africa Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier told La Stampa newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

“I believe the choice of candidates will be much longer than it was in 2005,” added Napier, who has himself been tipped in some quarters as a possible pontiff.

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The Roman Catholic Church marked its first Sunday in nearly eight years without a papal blessing, as cardinals gathered to elect a new leader of the 1.2 billion-member faith in one of the most troubled periods of its history.

The windows of the papal apartments overlooking St. Peter’s Square were shut, which is normally the case only when a pope is outside Rome and delivers the Sunday blessing elsewhere.

There was no papal blessing of any kind, the first time the church has been in such a state of limbo since Sunday, April 3, 2005, the day after Pope John Paul died.

“It’s strange, very strange to come to Rome to St. Peter’s Square and not to hear the Angelus (Sunday blessing) of the pope, especially because the pope is still alive – it’s a unique situation that we are living through,” said Fabio Ferrara, who was one of the few people in the square at noon.

“We have been praying a lot, it’s sad, it is very, very sad, we feel like orphans,” said Sister Agnese Carreddu, an Italian nun in the square.

Catholics at Sunday masses throughout the world did not hear the customary prayer for “our pope, Benedict”. It will be omitted from every mass until there is a new pope.

On Monday cardinals will begin preliminary meetings, known as general congregations, to get to know each other, discuss church issues and decide the starting date of the closed-door conclave to choose Benedict’s successor.

The meetings are open to all cardinals, whereas only those under 80 can enter the Sistine Chapel and elect a new pope from their own ranks.

Currently 115 cardinal electors are due to take part in the conclave, which many believe will start around March 10.

The Vatican seems to be aiming for an election by mid-March so the new pope can be installed in office before Palm Sunday on March 24 and lead Holy Week services culminating in Easter the following Sunday.

No front-runner stands out and no campaigning is allowed for the election but leading candidates include Peter Turkson of Ghana, Leonardo Sandri of Argentina, Austrian Christoph Schoenborn, Brazil’s Odilo Scherer, Canadian Marc Ouellet and Angelo Scola, the leading candidate from Italy.

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The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI caught everyone by surprise, except his employer.

We caught up with God, aka David Javerbaum, the 11-time Emmy winning comedian who runs the popular @TheTweetOfGod account and author of ‘The Last Testament: A Memoir by God’.

Q: @TheTweetOfGod Popes don’t resign – has ex-Benedict incurred your wrath by doing this or did you fire him?

A: @Metro I’m not angry. In the end it came down to “creative differences”, in that I am infinitely creative and he is different.

@TheTweetOfGod In his final speech he said at tough times “it seemed the Lord was sleeping”. Were you ducking his calls?

@Metro No, he was right. I was sleeping. It was the seventh day of the week. How does he not know what I do on the seventh day? #genesis1bennyboy

@TheTweetOfGod What score would you give his reign?

@Metro I’d give it an IV out of X.

@TheTweetOfGod Are you concerned about the vacuum now he’s gone? Who will you speak through on earth now?

@Metro I will continue to speak through the mentally ill and/or con men, and by “and” I mean conservative Republicans.

@TheTweetOfGod How is recruitment for a replacement going – and who would be your ultimate fantasy pope?

@Metro No comment on who the new Pope might be. Obviously My fantasy would be ‘Poprah’. But she won’t return My calls.

@TheTweetOfGod The pope had a strong social media game – how will you bring the Vatican more in line with the digital era?

@Metro It’s pretty hard to bring the “digital era” to a place where, as the names of the Pope indicate, they don’t even have digits.

@TheTweetOfGod Will you be reclaiming the Popemobile?

@Metro Not reclaiming, but fixing up. I’m giving it racing stripes, lowriders, and an engine that runs on holy water and Jesus-body.

@TheTweetOfGod Off topic but who are you most keen to send to hell?

@Metro My bill collector. Satan owes me 500 years’ back rent.

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Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric resigned on Monday following allegations he behaved in an inappropriate way with priests, and said he would not take part in the election of Pope Benedict’s replacement.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien said he had tendered his resignation some months ago, ahead of his 75th birthday in March and because he was suffering from “indifferent health”.

The Vatican said the pope, who steps down on Thursday, had accepted O’Brien’s resignation as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh.

O’Brien, an outspoken opponent of gay marriage, has been reported to the Vatican over allegations of inappropriate behavior stretching back 30 years, according to Britain’s Observer newspaper.

The cardinal, who last week advocated allowing Catholic priests to marry as many found it difficult to cope with celibacy, rejected the allegations and was seeking legal advice, his spokesman said.1

“Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. For any failures, I apologize to all whom I have offended,” O’Brien said in a statement, which made no reference to the recent allegations.

He said he would not attend the election next month of a new pope, saying: “I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focused on me – but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and on his successor.”

The Observer, which gave little detail on the claims, said three priests and a former priest, from a Scottish diocese, had complained over incidents dating back to 1980.

One said the cardinal formed an “inappropriate relationship” with him while another complained of unwanted behavior by O’Brien after a late-night drinking session.

Last year, O’Brien’s comments labeling gay marriage a “grotesque subversion” landed him with a “Bigot of the Year” award from British gay rights group Stonewall.

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Pope Benedict spoke from his window for the last time on Sunday, telling the faithful packed into St. Peter’s Square that the first papal abdication in centuries was God’s will and insisting he was not “abandoning” the Church.

Four days before the 85-year-old’s often troubled eight-year rule ends, new talk of scandal hit the cardinals who will choose his successor; one of them, a Scottish archbishop, had to deny a media allegation of misconduct with young priests in the 1980s.

With an American cardinal urged not to go to the electoral conclave due to his role in handling sexual abuse cases in the United States, and the Vatican accusing media of running smears to influence the vote, the Church faces a stormy succession.

Benedict, however, defended his shock decision to resign as dictated by his failing health; his address to tens of thousands of well-wishers was met with calls of “Viva il Papa!”

“The Lord is calling me to climb the mountain, to dedicate myself even more to prayer and meditation,” the German-born pontiff said in Italian, his voice strong and carrying clearly.

“But this does not mean abandoning the Church. Actually, if God asks this of me, it is precisely because I can continue to serve her with the same dedication and the same love I have shown so far,” he said, adding that he would be serving the Church “in a way more in keeping with my age and my strengths”.

As he spoke, two of the some 117 cardinals who are due to enter the conclave to choose his successor as leader of the 1.2 billion Roman Catholics next month were mired in controversy.

Britain’s top Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Edinburgh, rejected allegations published in the Observer newspaper that he had been involved in unspecified inappropriate behavior with other priests in the past.

The paper said O’Brien, known for his outspoken views against homosexuality, had been reported to the Vatican by three priests and a former priest, who said they had come forward to demand O’Brien resign and not take part in the conclave.

“Cardinal O’Brien contests these claims and is taking legal advice,” a spokesman for the 74-year-old cardinal said.

He was the second cardinal to be caught up in controversy over his attendance ahead of the conclave, where 117 “princes of the Church” under 80 will elect a new pope from their ranks.

On Saturday, Catholic activists petitioned Cardinal Roger Mahony to recuse himself from the conclave so as not to insult survivors of sexual abuse by priests committed while he was archbishop of Los Angeles.

In that post from 1985 until 2011, Mahony worked to send priests known to be abusers out of state to shield them from law enforcement scrutiny in the 1980s, according to church files unsealed under a U.S. court order last month.

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