Cardinal Bergoglio addresses the crowd in Rome as Pope Francis
Pope Francis has spent his first day at the helm of the Catholic Church meeting the people of Rome ahead of a Sistine Chapel Mass with cardinals later.
After private prayers at the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, he crossed the road to a local school to meet children and commuters heading to work.The Pope later went to the priests' residence in Piazza Navona to pick up his belongings and pay his bill.
He will also start the process of appointing senior staff at the Vatican.
As the first Latin American - and the first Jesuit - pope, Francis has received a flood of goodwill messages from around the world.
Analysis
But the fact that the new Pope will meet the media before anyone else at a special audience on Saturday morning shows a vivid awareness that prayer may not be enough to deal with the situation facing the Catholic Church at this critical moment in its long history.
Francis is a Jesuit, a member of perhaps the most powerful and experienced religious order of the Catholic Church. The Jesuits are expert communicators and it is significant that one of the first people summoned to meet the new Pope this morning was Father Federico Lombardi, head of Vatican Radio (run for many years by the Jesuits) and the Vatican Press Office.
Under Pope Benedict, Father Lombardi was a mere functionary who had no direct access to the Pope. He could not pick up the phone and talk things through quickly - he just received orders from the Vatican Secretariat of State. That has now changed overnight.
But the 76-year-old Argentine, formerly Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, also faces a series of tough challenges.
The Church has been dogged by infighting and scandals over clerical sex abuse and alleged corruption.The BBC's David Willey, in Rome, says that Pope Francis becomes head of the Church at a critical moment in its history.
Shunned special car On Wednesday night, Pope Francis endeared himself to the crowds in St Peter's Square - and underlined his reputation for humility - when he asked them to bless him before blessing them in return from the balcony of the basilica.
The Vatican's account of his first hours in the top job also emphasised Pope Francis's humility, describing how he shunned a special car and security detail provided to take him to the Vatican and travelled on a bus with the other cardinals.
“Start Quote
End QuoteSantiago Times editorialOnce more the Church chooses as the head of the Vatican a promoter of hate toward social diversity and a model of homophobia and disdain for sexual minorities”
Following his first outing as pope to the Rome basilica on Thursday, Francis went back to the clergy house in a city centre side street where he had been staying ahead of the conclave that elected him on Wednesday.
"He packed his bags and then he went to pay the bill for his room so as to set a good example," said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi.He also broke tradition by remaining standing to receive cardinals' acts of homage after his election, instead of sitting in the papal throne, Lombardi said.
Pope Francis is returning to the Sistine Chapel on Thursday afternoon, scene of his election, to celebrate Mass with the cardinals.
The next day, he will meet all the cardinals, including those aged over 80 who did not take part in the conclave.
On Saturday he will meet the world's media at a special papal audience, an opportunity perhaps to set out some of his global vision, says the BBC's James Robbins in Rome.
A visit to his predecessor Benedict XVI at his retreat at Castel Gandolfo outside Rome is also planned, but will not take place for the "next few days", Lombardi said.
The visit to Benedict is important, correspondents say, as the existence of a living retired pope has prompted fears of a possible rival power.
bbc.com