{"id":30311,"date":"2013-03-19T13:16:50","date_gmt":"2013-03-19T12:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/pope-francis-enters-st-peters-square-inauguration-075957157.html"},"modified":"2013-03-19T13:16:50","modified_gmt":"2013-03-19T12:16:50","slug":"pope-francis-inauguration-live-video-as-he-greets-crowds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/pope-francis-inauguration-live-video-as-he-greets-crowds\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis inauguration: Live video as he greets crowds"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Pope Francis knelt at the tomb of St Peter and donned a ring symbolising his new papal powers at a sumptuous inauguration on Tuesday as tens of thousands of pilgrims cheered Latin America’s first pontiff.<\/p>\n

Francis swept into a sun-drenched St Peter’s Square to greet the throngs and walked in a procession along the length of the basilica as prelates chanted a Litany of Saints in Latin.<\/p>\n

The 265th successor to St Peter, considered the first pope, also received from his cardinals the pallium — a lambswool strip of cloth that symbolises the pope’s role as a shepherd.<\/p>\n

The “Fisherman’s Ring” bestowed on him by Angelo Sodano, the dean of the college of cardinals, is a personalised signet ring traditionally worn by popes in honour of St Peter — a fisherman.<\/p>\n

Crowds had gathered from the early morning to see the Argentine pope’s enthronement in a rare ceremony laden with centuries-old rituals and lavish imagery.<\/p>\n

Francis gave the thumbs-up to ecstatic crowds and stopped to kiss babies, getting off the car at one point to bless a handicapped man.<\/p>\n

“With Pope Francis, the Church will be closer to the people and to the modern world,” said Rodrigo Grajales, a 31-year-old Colombian priest.<\/p>\n

The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio has already won hearts in Rome with a disarmingly informal style which contrasted with Tuesday’s pomp and ceremony.<\/p>\n

The Vatican said 132 foreign delegations attended.<\/p>\n

Bergoglio was the surprise choice at a conclave of cardinals to find a successor to 85-year-old Benedict XVI, who last month brought a sudden end to a papacy that had often been overshadowed by scandal, saying he was too old to carry on.<\/p>\n

He was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n

The jovial Francis has said he chose his papal name in honour of the mediaeval Italian saint St Francis of Assisi and has called for a “poor Church for the poor”, warning the world’s cardinals against pursuing worldly glories.<\/p>\n

“Go Francis! We Will Be With You Wherever You Go!” read a sign held up by a group of Brazilian nuns in St Peter’s Square.<\/p>\n

Sister Rosa, an elderly Italian nun, said she expected the pope would be “another St Francis on Earth for love, goodness, poverty and humility”.<\/p>\n

The son of an Italian immigrant railway worker from a working-class quarter of Buenos Aires has been effusive in a way that is unusual in the Vatican.<\/p>\n

But the arrival of world leaders has presented him with a first diplomatic headache in the form of a request from compatriot President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina to mediate in a row with Britain over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.<\/p>\n

Francis is still haunted by criticism at home for failing to speak out against the excesses of Argentina’s military rule during the dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s.<\/p>\n

The Chinese government has also said it will not be sending any representatives after Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said he was attending.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe also flew in, sidestepping an EU travel ban over human rights abuses that does not apply to the Vatican.<\/p>\n

Latin America was heavily represented at the inauguration of the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years, with the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Paraguay all in attendance.<\/p>\n

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and European Union leaders were also present.<\/p>\n

Leaders of the Eastern Catholic Rite were also in attendance, including Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.<\/p>\n

Vatican radio said it was the first time a patriarch of Constantinople had attended an inauguration since 1054 when the eastern and western halves of Christendom split.<\/p>\n

The Vatican was in security lockdown for the event, with 3,000 officers deployed including sharpshooters on the rooftops and bomb disposal experts.<\/p>\n

Three Red Cross tents could be seen on the square and giant screens have been placed all down Via della Conciliazione — the main avenue leading to St Peter’s.<\/p>\n

The mass proper will include a homily by Francis, who has often strayed from prepared texts with off-the-cuff jokes, anecdotes and passionate exhortations for spiritual renewal.<\/p>\n

Church leaders have urged Francis to move quickly to reform the intrigue-filled Roman Curia, the central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, and his appointments in the coming weeks will be closely watched.<\/p>\n

Francis has indicated he will press for a friendlier faith that is closer to ordinary people and for social justice, although the moderate conservative is unlikely to change major tenets of Catholic doctrine.<\/p>\n

Vatican experts say he has also signalled he will pursue a more inclusive “collegial” style of leadership together with the cardinals and bishops.<\/p>\n

Vast crowds also gathered on the other side of the Atlantic outside the Buenos Aires cathedral to dance and sing as they watched the inauguration.<\/p>\n

Catholic high school students chanted slogans praising Francis, while seminarians and nuns waved Vatican flags and signs supporting the new pope.<\/p>\n

“This pope has awakened deep emotions within me, not only because he’s from Argentina, but because of his warmth as a person,” Celia Farias, 33, told AFP.<\/p>\n

“As a Catholic, it has renewed my faith.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Pope Francis knelt at the tomb of St Peter and donned a ring symbolising his new papal powers at a sumptuous inauguration on Tuesday as tens of thousands of pilgrims cheered Latin America’s first pontiff.
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