Pope Francis

It is with great joy that people in Kerala received the news of the election of the new Holy Father. Many were watching TV late into  the night , hoping to hear something  about the election of the new Holy Father. It was a great surprise when we heard the name of the Holy Father.No one has mentioned  that name before and the media were focusing on other Cardinals.All of a sudden all the tidbits of the news dripping though the media about the Holy Father made him very much loved by the people. What  struck everyone was his down  to earth attitude to everything in life--his humility,simplicity,smile, affability etc.
I remember  the day when Joh Paul l was elected.  I was talking to some  students at the Catholic University campus.Then, one of the students came and told me about the election of the new Pope and he was thrilled to see the Pope smiling so beautifully when he was greeting people.The words the student said still remain in my mind: He said  "I was thrilled form head to toe when I saw the Pope smile."
we have moved a lot from those times.With John Paul ll , the contact with people became an inherent part of the Papal style.H would greet ,hug, smile and laugh and all those human gestures made him part of the lives of the people he met in his life.
Pope Francis is following in his footsteps but with a much deeper way of involvement.Pope Francis has already lived the style of being close to the people while he was a Cardinal.It becomes much easier for him to adopt the style that would bring him close to people.