For the Catholic Pope's cousin Cugini Piemontesi, Francis is just Giorgio, not the “holy majesty”, but the kind man who often laughs, washes his socks every day so that he can wear them clean socks the next day, and likes to sit under the tree and chat with his relatives, ordinary like everyone else. In addition, his cousin Franco Travo also said: When he talked to Francis about his 60-year marriage, Francis once asked him: Are you not tired yet? Pope Francis likes to joke. After his colon surgery, he shared with relish: “Now my stomach has 47 stitches. It's a caesarean section, but there are no children!”
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – NOVEMBER 13: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY – NO MERCHANDISING) Pope Francis waves to faithful and pilgrims during his Wednesday General Audience at St. Peter’s Square on November 13, 2024 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis on Wednesday renewed his appeal to remember countries at war, warning against becoming desensitized to global death and devastation. (Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)Vatican Pool/Getty Images
This kind of relaxed and optimistic attitude has always been a part of his character. When he was a cardinal in Buenos Aires, he went out by walking or taking a bus. Even as a pope, he chose to live a simple life, abandoned the pope's apartment, lived in a small room in Santa Marta, and asked for a simple funeral for himself and his successor. He said, “The funeral of the Pope of Roman is the funeral of Christ and his disciples, not the funeral of the powerful people in the world.”
He could even understand the believers who were bored at Mass, saying, “The preaching must be brief, up to eight minutes, or people will fall asleep.” He was right. In February 2022, he first appeared on Fabio Fazio's show “Che tempo che fa”, revealing that he wanted to be a butcher when he was a child, not because of his love for meat, but because the owner's magic wallet was full of money. The pope also joked that it was blamed on the “Genoa gene” he inherited from his mother Regina Maria Sivori. She was born in Buenos Aires, but has Ligurian and Piedmontese descent.
