Vatican City:
Tens of thousands of pilgrims thronged St Peter's Square on Sunday to see Pope Francis at his first Angelus appearance, but some were worried that this mould-breaking pontiff could come up against powerful vested interests in the Vatican.
From the early morning, pilgrims and curious tourists had streamed into St Peter's Square to see Francis, the former Argentine cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, at the same venue where he was unveiled as the 266th pope following his surprise election on Wednesday.
Judging by the number of sky-blue and white flags, many of the 150,000-strong crowd had travelled to Rome from Argentina, filled with pride that one of their own was elected as the first pope from Latin America.
"He has said so many important things already that you feel as if he has already been pope for a long time," said Liliana Vallina, 52, from the city of Rosario.
"He has spoken about the poor and he's said that the Church should be humble -- that should give them food for thought in the Holy Curia," she said, referring to the Catholic Church's governing body, which was beset by infighting under Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI.
"You'll see, he'll be a great pope -- if they let him," she said, voicing concern that his insistence on taking the Church back to its roots might not please everyone in the Holy See.
She said she feared for his life "because he speaks about the poverty of the Church, and that won't please those in the Vatican machinery."
The crowd had soon filled the vast square to capacity, with people spilling down the main road towards one of the platforms set up for TV cameras from all over the world.
When Francis appeared at the window high above the packed square, pilgrims uttered the words that have already come to characterise his short reign. One said: "Look how he is modest and humble -- and look at his smiling face."
"Brothers and sisters, hello," said the pope, with the same words he had used when he greeted the crowd in a rain-soaked St Peter's Square following his elevation.
There were smiles when he mentioned a book written by a cardinal who is a friend of his. "But I don't want you to think I am plugging my cardinals' books!" he joked.
Shortly before the pope appeared, Francesco Baldan, 52, from Venice, sat down and opened his newspaper -- not without difficulty given that he was hemmed in on all sides by the crowd.
He glanced at an article about the pope headlined "Simplicity and Courage". "With words and gestures he has already succeeded in winning the faithful's hearts," Baldan said.
For now, the pope can do no wrong in the eyes of the pilgrims, even when they are reminded of the criticism of his role during Argentina's "Dirty War", when some 30,000 people were killed or disappeared. Leftist detractors say Bergoglio failed to do enough to protect two Jesuit priests who were tortured by the right-wing junta during five months in detention.
"He was young at that time, not even 40 years old," said Liliana Vallina. "And what could he have done? What would we have done in his place?"
She said she trusted the words of Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who has spoken out in the pope's defence. "If he has defended him, then it's good enough for me," she said.