Welcome Pope Francis

Metaphors are used extensively in the Bible and they pop up just as often in Pope Francis' talks and teachings.

Here are a few of Pope Francis' favorite things, which he revealed in a series of interviews granted while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Reaction from Rome According to the pope Reaction from Rome Reaction from around the U.S.

Pope Francis’ papal motto is based on the Gospel account of “The Call of St. Matthew,” the tax collector, in a homily given by St. Bede the Venerable.

When Pope Francis first appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Alejandra Hall was surprised to recognize a fellow Argentinian who used to regularly celebrate Mass and hear confessions at a cathedral located a few blocks from her childhood home in Buenos Aires.

WHEN THE WHITE SMOKE APPEARED: I was in St. Peter’s Square; I had been in the square for nearly two hours (with the Bernardi Study-Abroad program of the University of St. Thomas) by the time the smoke went up. . . .