Pope Francis: “I’m not a star”

VATICAN CITY—As the first anniversary of his election approaches, Pope Francis gives his insight into the first 12 months of his pontificate in an extensive interview with Corriere della Sera.

Refusing to be considered anything more than a “normal person”, the pontiff told Corriere’s editor-in-chief Ferruccio De Bortoli that a pope is simply someone who “laughs, cries, sleeps and has friends like everyone else”, and therefore should not be portrayed as a star or a superhero.

In the interview, Francis threw some more light on his relationship with his predecessor, stating that the Pope Emeritus is “an institution, not a statue in a museum”, and it is only right that he should participate in the life of the Church. And to illustrate this point further, the pontiff used an analogy to the role of grandparents, who “give strength to the family, and do not deserve to end up in a nursing home.”

This morning Francis presided over Ash Wednesday ceremonies and received warm applause from a big crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square for his general audience. Later in the afternoon, he will lead a procession and celebrate a mass to inaugurate the season of Lent in the Basilica of Saint Sabina in Aventino.