Pope Francis Gets to Work
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: The first full day of Pope Francis. We're already talking about it. The start of a new era for Catholics around the world.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Standoff with a suspected killer. Right now, police think they have the gunman what killed four people surrounded in upstate New York.</s>SAMBOLIN: Survival against all odds. A skydiver lives to tell about his terrifying plunge, after his parachute failed. That has to be one of the scariest moments ever.</s>BERMAN: I can't imagine.</s>SAMBOLIN: All right. Good morning to you. Welcome to EARLY START. Glad you're with us. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.</s>BERMAN: And I'm John Berman. Great to see you this morning. It is Thursday, March 14th. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East. We're going to start with Pope Francis. You know this, is the first morning that anyone has ever said those words. This is the first full day on the job for the first Latin American pontiff. He was scheduled to meet with a man he was to replace, Pope Emeritus Benedict. But the Vatican now says that is not likely to happen today. Pope Francis will hold a private mass with the cardinals who elected him at noon Eastern at the Sistine Chapel. Of course, the question -- as so many people around the world are asking this morning -- who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio? And what will his election mean for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics? We are covering this like no other network can. Miguel Marquez, Jim Bittermann reporting from this morning. Dan Rivers is in Assisi, Italy. And Shasta Darlington is in Buenos Aires where Pope Francis touched the lives many in his service as archbishop. Our coverage begins with Miguel Marquez live from Rome this morning. Good morning, Miguel.</s>MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning there, John. Of course, the newspapers here are full of Francisco, Francis news today. But this is probably the most interesting and cool one. When's the last time you saw a newspaper in Latin? Fantastic. But the moments that he was presented to the world, that he met the people out there, was an unbelievable moment to experience.</s>MARQUEZ (voice-over): The anticipation, intense. The crowd, 150,000 strong, jammed into St. Peter's square. White smoke billowed. And the largest bell in the basilica signaled the election of a new pope. And within minutes, the square filled to capacity. And then -- (on camera): This is the moment -- the moment that the tens of thousands of people gathered here in the square have been waiting for. It's electrifying. It's an extraordinary moment. Look at all of the cameras snapping a picture of the new pope. (voice-over): Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio becomes Pope Francis. He asked the crowd to pray for his predecessor, Pope Benedict. Then, in a dramatic and touching moment, he asked for a silent prayer. From the massive crowd, not a word, not a sound. The prayer, he said, was for him to help him in his new role. (on camera): A hundred thousand people, probably more, and the silence.</s>LAURA HIDDEMEN, WITNESS: I know. I know. I was shocked, too. Definitely. It was -- I think it's just you're in the moment. You wanted that one curtain to drop and see who it was.</s>MARQUEZ (voice-over): For his fellow Argentines, it's a moment not only for their country, but the world.</s>RICARDO SAENZ, ARGENTINIAN PRIEST: He's a very humble person. Everybody in Argentina knows that. He doesn't use a car. He doesn't -- he uses the metro, the subway. He doesn't like to be called himself monsignor, your excellence, his imminence. Just Jorge Mario. You can call him is father.</s>MARQUEZ: A humble man about to embark on an extraordinary journey.</s>MARQUEZ: Now, even though you had this unbelievably enormous event last night, you still got the sense of the humility of the man. He left the stage. And he came back out to wish everybody a good night. And thank you for coming and to ask people to pray for him. He is expected to then today -- he will meet today with 114 cardinals who elected him at the Sistine Chapel, where they will hold a mass. John, back to you.</s>BERMAN: Miguel, it was almost grandfatherly the way he spoke to everyone out there. Miguel Marquez, it must have been so exciting to be in the middle of it all, like you were. Those are great pictures of you. Thanks so much this morning. Zoraida?</s>SAMBOLIN: Pope Francis is carving out a repetition of a pope of firsts -- a humble man who has been known to defy tradition and do things his way. Here's Jim Bittermann.</s>POPE FRANCIS I, CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Let us begin this journey.</s>JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His journey began Wednesday when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected to lead the Catholic Church. He's the first non-European pope since the eighth century and the first pope ever from South America. He'll be called Pope Francis, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Bergoglio was born in December 17th, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of an Italian immigrant, a railway worker. He had four brothers and sisters. He studied to become a chemist before receiving a call to the priesthood. The 76-year-old was ordained a Jesuit in December of 1969, and has served as archbishop in Buenos Aires. He was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on February 21st, 2001. Bergoglio is said to be the runner-up in the 2005 conclave. And in 2013, he was the oldest of the possible candidates, barely mentioned as the top pick. Some fellow Argentines are looking forward to his new chapter in the Catholic Church.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we want to move forward. Hopefully make some good changes. Hopefully, he'll be similar to John Paul II in some ways and being progressive. So, we'll just have to wait and see.</s>BITTERMANN: Bergoglio is the 266th bishop of Rome, leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. But to many, he's known simply, Father Jorge. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Rome.</s>SAMBOLIN: Vice President Joe Biden, the first Roman Catholic vice president, will lead the U.S. delegation to Pope Francis' formal installation, which is happening next week. President Obama said the selection of the first Latin American pope spoke to the region that is increasingly shaping our world. The news also seemed to energize American Catholics.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I ran to work. I had to come to the church. I work a couple of blocks down and I said I have to come to the church and thank God that we have this pope. That we are not alone.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's exciting for the Catholic Church, especially in America, to have a South American cardinal named pope. That's good. That's good for anyone, you know?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a man of the people. Raised poor. Rode buses. So, they made a wise choice.</s>SAMBOLIN: Everybody seemed to have a positive opinion. House Speaker John Boehner who is Catholic, called the selection of a non-European pope, a big step in the right direction for the church.</s>BERMAN: We've been talking about this all morning. And I thought something you said was so striking. You said you were watching, like so many of us were.</s>SAMBOLIN: I was riveted and glued.</s>BERMAN: And you were struck by his smile.</s>SAMBOLIN: First when he came out, he was very stiff and he looked very uncomfortable waving his hand. But when he smiled, it changed everything. Even the people who are standing around them, if you looked at them, it changed their disposition, as well. He has an incredibly warm smile. The more you learn about him, the more interesting.</s>BERMAN: It came across as warm. It came across as almost gentle.</s>SAMBOLIN: Genuine, I'd say that as well.</s>BERMAN: And he asked the people of Italy, everyone in St. Peter's Square, he told them, get a good rest.</s>SAMBOLIN: Yes. And there was silence. Complete silence when he started to pray. And I thought that was significant, also. The fact that he chose to ask people to pray for him first. I thought was just poignant and very special moment for a lot of people</s>BERMAN: I also love the fact that he's a sports fan, big soccer fan.</s>SAMBOLIN: You share that. You guys have that in common. You can talk sports. Coming up in our next half hour, what this means for the future of the church. We'll be joined by CNN senior Vatican analyst, John Allen, and CNN contributor, Father Edward Beck, as well.</s>BERMAN: It is about eight minutes after the hour. And at this moment, there is a tense standoff between police and a gunman suspected of killing four people and blowing up his own house.</s>SAMBOLIN: We're live at the scene, coming up. You are watching EARLY START.