Pope’s Phone Call To Jesuits Believed A ‘Prank’ At First

The Pope’s phone call of thank to some fellow Jesuits, placed himself after ascending to the papacy, was at first thought to be a prank — but it seems Pope Francis is indeed living up to the whole “humble Pope” thing we’ve seen so far.

While Pope Francis I was still a Cardinal, he was known for his commitment to a simple lifestyle, one often eschewed in the glitzy Catholic Church.

Popery is always a bit frou-frou — with the gold staff and the big hats and whatnot — but word among Catholics was that the Argentinian Pope was gonna keep it real after hitting the big time.

One of the first things His Holiness did after he won Vatican Idol was to head back, in person, to the hotel at which he stayed during the conclave to take care of what was by all accounts a minor bill — as well as to greet the hotel staff in person.

(The gesture prompted a “Catholic Meme” of the new Pope at the desk, captioned humorously.)

Next order of business — the Pope’s phone call to Jesuits in Rome. According to National Catholic Reporter, the Rome Jesuit order headquarters received a phone call on Friday, answered by a receptionist.

The receptionist was stunned when the caller stated, “This is Pope Francis. May I speak to Fr. General?”

The Pope’s phone call was to Fr. Adolfo Nicolás Pachón, the order’s superior general, the site reports, citing an email circulating among Jesuits.

The receptionist, unnamed, was so shocked that His Holiness is said to have had to reply, “This is not a joke. I am Pope Francis … who are you?”

It wasn’t just the Jesuit order receiving a Pope phone call after the big announcement. Supporters in Argentina also got on the horn with the Big Cheese as he thanked them for support and requested their prayers.