By Christian Post

The newly elected pope addressed the media for the first time on Saturday, reminding Catholics that Jesus, not the pope, is at the center of the Church, which he said should be “poor, and for the poor.” The pontiff also explained his choice of the name Francis.

There were about 5,000 reporters from more than 80 countries at the Paul VI hall at the Vatican when Pope Francis said Catholics should remember that Jesus, not the pope, is the center of the Church.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina chose Francis to be his papal name because St. Francis of Assisi is “the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man,” explained the only Jesuit and first Latin American to be chosen as leader of the Roman Catholic Church. “Oh, how I would like a poor Church, and for the poor,” he added.

St. Francis, who died in 1226, renounced his family’s fortune for a life of charity and poverty.

Pope Francis is also known for his simplicity. In Argentina, where he was archbishop, he lived in a simple apartment, cooked his own meals and used public transport to go to work.

When the election results became clear on Wednesday, Cardinal Claudio Hummes of Brazil, who was sitting next to Bergoglio, hugged and kissed him and told him, “Don’t forget the poor,” Reuters quoted the pope as recalling. “And that’s how in my heart came the name Francis of Assisi,” he said. “I thought of wars …. and Francis (of Assisi) is the man of peace, and that is how the name entered my heart, Francis of Assisi, for me he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects others.”

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