Viva Papa Francisco

Sarah, from the USA: "Pope Francis is very, very dear to my heart, mostly because of his incredible love and joy, his caringness for the poor and for those who need it most. He really brings us back to what true humanity is and what it means to be a Christian in the most simple and most profound sense of the word: in just following Christ and loving each person for who they are and who God made them to be, and not for their certain qualities or their physical beauty or anything like that. Just the heart that God gave them is all that we need to love and that's exactly what he shows to us. He's such a beautiful example that we can follow in our daily lives and it's something that the whole world has noticed, and not even necessarily Catholics or Christians, but everybody has noticed his love and he inspires everybody to act that way." Papa Francesco: "Mañana es la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Patrona de toda América. Con esta ocasión, deseo saludar a los hermanos y hermanas de ese Continente, y lo hago pensando en la Virgen de Tepeyac. Cuando se apareció a san Juan Diego, su rostro era el de una mujer mestiza y sus vestidos estaban llenos de símbolos de la cultura indígena. Siguiendo el ejemplo de Jesús, María se hace cercana a sus hijos, acompaña como madre solícita su camino, comparte las alegrías y las esperanzas, los sufrimientos y las angustias del Pueblo de Dios, del que están llamados a formar parte todos los pueblos de la tierra. La aparición de la imagen de la Virgen en la tilma de Juan Diego fue un signo profético de un abrazo, el abrazo de María a todos los habitantes de las vastas tierras americanas, a los que ya estaban allí y a los que llegarían después. Este abrazo de María señaló el camino que siempre ha caracterizado a América: ser una tierra donde pueden convivir pueblos diferentes, una tierra capaz de respetar la vida humana en todas sus fases, desde el seno materno hasta la vejez, capaz de acoger a los emigrantes, así como a los pueblos y a los pobres y marginados de todas las épocas. America es una tierra generosa. Éste es el mensaje de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, y éste es también mi mensaje, el mensaje de la Iglesia. Animo a todos los habitantes del Continente americano a tener los brazos abiertos como la Virgen María, con amor y con ternura. Pido por todos ustedes, queridos hermanos y hermanas de toda América, y también ustedes recen por mí. Que la alegría del Evangelio esté siempre en sus corazones. El Señor los bendiga y la Virgen los acompañe."- 11.12.13. Music by Joe Zambon: Overjoyed. For much more, visit Totus2us which is dedicated to Our Lady and inspired by our holy fathers Blessed John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Mary.

Michael, from Brooklyn, New York: "I’m really happy and excited about Pope Francis and the way he’s reaching out to everybody and bringing in a lot of new people to the Church. When Pope Benedict resigned I was sad, I admit I was very sad, it was hard to handle. I mean, you know him for so long, you get to know him, to love him a lot, so to see him resign was hard. I knew the reason he did it, he explained it well, but it was just hard to see him go. But when he resigned and we got Pope Francis, I started to realise, 'wow, that was a very wise decision', I started to see that, because Pope Francis has a charism that compliments both Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II." Papa Francesco: "Vergine Santa e Immacolata, a Te, che sei l’onore del nostro popolo e la custode premurosa della nostra città, ci rivolgiamo con confidenza e amore. Tu sei la Tutta Bella, o Maria! Il peccato non è in Te. Suscita in tutti noi un rinnovato desiderio di santità: nella nostra parola rifulga lo splendore della verità, nelle nostre opere risuoni il canto della carità, nel nostro corpo e nel nostro cuore abitino purezza e castità, nella nostra vita si renda presente tutta la bellezza del Vangelo. Tu sei la Tutta Bella, o Maria! La Parola di Dio in Te si è fatta carne. Aiutaci a rimanere in ascolto attento della voce del Signore: il grido dei poveri non ci lasci mai indifferenti, la sofferenza dei malati e di chi è nel bisogno non ci trovi distratti, la solitudine degli anziani e la fragilità dei bambini ci commuovano, ogni vita umana sia da tutti noi sempre amata e venerata. Tu sei la Tutta Bella, o Maria! In Te è la gioia piena della vita beata con Dio. Fa’ che non smarriamo il significato del nostro cammino terreno: la luce gentile della fede illumini i nostri giorni, la forza consolante della speranza orienti i nostri passi, il calore contagioso dell’amore animi il nostro cuore, gli occhi di noi tutti rimangano ben fissi là, in Dio, dove è la vera gioia. Tu sei la Tutta Bella, o Maria! Ascolta la nostra preghiera, esaudisci la nostra supplica: sia in noi la bellezza dell’amore misericordioso di Dio in Gesù, sia questa divina bellezza a salvare noi, la nostra città, il mondo intero. Amen."- 8.12.13. Music by Joe Zambon: Overjoyed. For much more, visit Totus2us which is dedicated to Our Lady and inspired by our holy fathers Blessed John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Mary.

Giulia, from Rome: "I think Papa Francisco is a model of a priest if you are looking for someone you can really find on the street. So it’s a very good opportunity for people who don’t believe in God to see how is the Church, how it should be and how it is if you are curious, if you are really interested in understanding what is the Church, the Catholic Church." Papa Francesco: "..Preghiamo insieme la Vergine Maria, perché ci aiuti, Vescovo e Popolo, a camminare nella fede e nella carità, fiduciosi sempre nella misericordia del Signore: Lui sempre ci aspetta, ci ama, ci ha perdonato con il suo sangue e ci perdona ogni volta che andiamo da Lui a chiedere il perdono. Abbiamo fiducia nella sua misericordia!"- 7.04.13. Music by Joe Zambon: Overjoyed. For much more, visit Totus2us which is dedicated to Our Lady and inspired by our holy fathers Blessed John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Mary.

Giulia, da Roma: "Per me questa elezione del Papa Francesco rappresenta una buona possibilità per molte persone che non hanno altro modo di conoscere dei preti o delle persone della Chiesa come aiutato io che mi hanno portato a convertire a 33 anni. Si vero presenta un opportunità molto plateale per tutti di conoscere qual è la verità, qual è la vera identità della Chiesa chi e una Chiesa appartiene a Cristo. E quindi quando ci sono degli esempi cosi belli sia la capacità di capire esattamente cosi intendeva Cristo quando voleva edificare la sua Chiesa." Papa Francesco: "..Preghiamo insieme la Vergine Maria, perché ci aiuti, Vescovo e Popolo, a camminare nella fede e nella carità, fiduciosi sempre nella misericordia del Signore: Lui sempre ci aspetta, ci ama, ci ha perdonato con il suo sangue e ci perdona ogni volta che andiamo da Lui a chiedere il perdono. Abbiamo fiducia nella sua misericordia!"- 7.04.13. Music by Joe Zambon: Overjoyed. For much more, visit Totus2us which is dedicated to Our Lady and inspired by our holy fathers Blessed John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Mary.

Erin, from the US and 1 of the Totus2us team: "First of all I want to say how grateful I am that we have a Jesuit pope. I was instructed in the faith and baptised by a Jesuit priest and the Jesuits have been such an anchor in my own personal faith, and I think it's wonderful as well that we can look forward to a pontificate that perhaps will also embody a Franciscan spirit … There was a meeting with journalists, people from the media and I was listening to Pope Francis speak to these journalists and he said something that just made me stand still and I was really deeply touched by. It seemed not a departure from the past, but just something new, something I really haven't heard a past pope say before or he was saying the same thing but in a new way .. He simply said 'I know that some of you don't belong don't belong to the Catholic Church, I know that some of you are non-believers, so I'm going to give you my blessing in silence, respecting the conscience of each individual because all of you are sons of God.' And that touched me at so many different levels." Papa Francesco: "..Io vi racconterò la storia. Nell’elezione, io avevo accanto a me l’arcivescovo emerito di San Paolo .. il cardinale Claudio Hummes: un grande amico, un grande amico! Quando la cosa diveniva un po’ pericolosa, lui mi confortava. E quando i voti sono saliti a due terzi, viene l’applauso consueto, perché è stato eletto il Papa. E lui mi abbracciò, mi baciò e mi disse: “Non dimenticarti dei poveri!”. E quella parola è entrata qui: i poveri, i poveri. Poi, subito, in relazione ai poveri ho pensato a Francesco d’Assisi. Poi, ho pensato alle guerre, mentre lo scrutinio proseguiva, fino a tutti i voti. E Francesco è l’uomo della pace. E così, è venuto il nome, nel mio cuore: Francesco d’Assisi. E’ per me l’uomo della povertà, l’uomo della pace, l’uomo che ama e custodisce il creato; in questo momento anche noi abbiamo con il creato una relazione non tanto buona, no? E’ l’uomo che ci dà questo spirito di pace, l’uomo povero … Ah, come vorrei una Chiesa povera e per i poveri! … Vi voglio tanto bene, vi ringrazio per tutto quello che avete fatto. E penso al vostro lavoro: vi auguro di lavorare con serenità e con frutto, e di conoscere sempre meglio il Vangelo di Gesù Cristo e la realtà della Chiesa. Vi affido all’intercessione della Beata Vergine Maria, Stella dell’evangelizzazione. E auguro il meglio a voi e alle vostre famiglie, a ciascuna delle vostre famiglie. E imparto di cuore a tutti voi la benedizione. Grazie." "Les dije que les daba de corazón la bendición. Como muchos de ustedes no pertenecen a la Iglesia católica, otros no son creyentes, de corazón doy esta bendición en silencio, a cada uno de ustedes, respetando la conciencia de cada uno, pero sabiendo que cada uno de ustedes es hijo de Dios. ¡Que Dios los bendiga!"- 16.03.13. Music by Joe Zambon: Overjoyed. Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was the motto of Blessed Pope John Paul II to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus2us.

Ruth, from the Totus2us team: "We got quite close up in St Peter’s Square, close enough up to be able to see and I’d thought 'well, I’m not going to know who he is most probably' and when it was announced, I was dip-sticky about it. In fact no-one around us had much of an idea who Jorge Mario Bergoglio was. I’d read some biographies but was getting it all in a muddle. So the man that we met, for most of us in the crowd, was the man presented to us. The way in which Pope Francis came out and met his flock, his diocese of Rome and all those from the universal Church who were based in Rome, moved hearts just like that. He came out and spent quite a little bit of time just in total silence, before saying anything at all, like he was allowing himself to really live in the present moment and be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. John Paul II had started by saying that he was a pope from lontana and Papa Francisco said that the cardinals had had to go to the ends of the world to find him. Then there was a prayer for Pope Benedict, we had an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be. Then the whole crowd were so taken aback that he asked us to pray for him before he gave his first apostolic blessing, and bowed down low for us to pray to God for God to bless him. The humility of the gesture was immediately evident and wondrous to behold. And then he gave us the apostolic blessing and then he mentioned he was going to see Our Lady the next day, which got more thumbs up from me … It was a great gift to know straight away that the man the cardinals had voted was such a holy man and that we could really love him … Thank you, Papa Francesco, for having taken up this role at the heart of the Church." Music by Joe Zambon: Overjoyed. Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was the motto of Blessed Pope John Paul II to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus2us.

Sister Teresita, from South Korea, in Italian and Korean: "Sono molto contenta per l'elezione del nuovo Papa Francesco. Lui è un uomo umile e anche giusto che mi piace molto." Music by Joe Zambon: Overjoyed. Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was the motto of Blessed Pope John Paul II to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus2us.