VATICAN CITY, March 17 (Reuters) – Pope Francis gave his
security detail a taste of his new papal style on Sunday by
stepping outside a Vatican gate to greet a boisterous crowd of
well-wishers.
The pope said Sunday morning Mass in the small church of
Santa Anna, just a few feet inside the gate of the same name,
for Vatican workers who frequent it as their parish.
He arrived in a black car, again shunning the papal
limousine, and immediately went over to hundreds of people who
had gathered at the gate to get a glimpse of him.
He greeted people and kissed children, and several times, as
more people reached out, smiled and pointed to the plastic watch
on his wrist to signal that he had to go inside to say Mass.
.
After the service, still wearing his purple liturgical
vestments, he stood outside the church like a simple parish
priest and greeted each person as they came out.
Before driving away, he again went back to the gate to wave,
to the obvious discomfort of his security detail.
He was then whisked back to the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace
to deliver his noon address and blessing from the window of his
apartment to an overflowing crowd of more than 150,000 people in
St. Peter’s Square. [ID: nL6N0C90Y4]
(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
