Where were you when the white smoke billowed from the Vatican?  I was on my way back to the parish when my cell phone kept rapidly beeping as one text after another poured in.  Back in the parish office, I learned the Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina had been elected and taken the name Francis – I assumed it was for St. Francis Xavier the great Jesuit missionary and that new evangelization would be the focus of his pontificate.  A good choice and a great aim.

I really was surprised to learn that he had taken the name of St. Francis of Assisi – pleasantly surprised, proud and humbled all at the same time. When I learned more about Pope Francis and the manner in which he lived, it made sense: foregoing the palatial bishop’s residence for a small apartment, cooking his own meals, and taking the bus/tram to work.  Here is a simple, humble servant in the manner of St. Francis – and many other saints of the church. Cardinal Dolan reported that after the election and the introduction to the world, he returned to the residence on the bus with all the other cardinals.

While the Vatican and St. Peter’s is amazing (and take the chance to visit if you can) it represents a very small part of the Church. The Work of the Church continues – and I pray that Pope Francis continually reminds us and encourages us to join that visible manifestation of the reign of God among us.

Of course the world press will begin to report on things of and about the papacy and Pope Francis. Probably the most unusual piece so far is from NY Times’ Nate Silver, who is a favorite of mine and always has surprising information (wonk alert – he is a statistic guy).

Given that this is the first time the name “Francis” has been taken by a pope, it is inevitable that popular reporting venues will begin to write about the life of the saint from Assisi. This morning there was a link on the NBS News webpage about the life of St. Francis! Great news, huh. It lead to a piece by M. Alex Johnson on NBC News.  I applaud M. Alex Johnson for taking on a huge task.  Think of the daunting task of trying to assimilate all the information available about St. Francis and write a cogent article – all in the space of a few hours.

It is and will be inevitable that not everything written about St. Francis will be exactly right.  Details will be incorrect – e.g. in the Johnson article, Francis did not sell his home (he did not have one) or his possessions (although he did give away a lot of his father’s possessions) – perhaps I nitpick – sorry, because the gist of the article was certainly on track.

I did really appreciate Johnson writing:

In a famous dictum history attributes to him, Francis argued: “You cannot starve a fasting man, you cannot steal from someone who has no money, you cannot ruin someone who hates prestige.”  [emphasis added]

I think that is one of the pop expressions attributed to Francis that just ain’t so – not that it does not distill a Franciscan sense of things.  The other expression that will pop up in many articles is the “Preach the Gospel at all times, use words if necessary.” Another expression that just ain’t so.  But that is OK.

The more people that, because of Pope Francis, want to learn more about the Jesuits, St. Francis of Assisi, the Franciscans, living the reign of God in the modern world, and the work of Catholic Church – that is a good thing.

I am excited for the days ahead.  The world will watch and I believe they will see a holy and humble man leading the church to God in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. I am hopeful.

I had been celebrating masses daily for the election of the pope. Now I can celebrate for Pope Francis because habmus papem Franciscum.

[Photo: Associated Press]