New pope leaves Vatican on Day 1 for surprise visit to basilica

The descriptions of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who is now known as Pope Francis, as a humble man of the people may be accurate, if a Reuters report this morning is any indication.

Less that 12 hours after standing before 100,000 cheering faithful in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis left the Vatican to pay a surprise visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a 5th-century basilica in Rome, to pray.

The surprised priest at the Basilica, Father Ludovico Melo, told Reuters that he had only a short warning that the new pope would arrive.

When he arrived, Pope Francis prayed alone before the icon of Mary and then lead others in the church in a prayer.

"He spoke to us cordially, like a father," Melo, told Reuters. "We were given 10 minutes’ advance notice that the pope was coming."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b8Q3vEuzJq4

On Thursday morning, Vatican spokespeople said Pope Francis is eventually expected to travel to the papal summer home, south of Rome, where he will meet with the former pope, Benedict. But that visit is "not today, tomorrow, or within the next few days," reports The Guardian.