A phone call that meant so much

POPE Francis surprised crowds of Catholic faithful who waited through the night for his inaugural Mass with a telephone call from the Vatican to the cathedral in Buenos Aires where he used to be archbishop.

In the hours before the Mass was due to start, thousands of faithful gathered around large television screens set up in the central square of Plaza de Mayo in the centre of Buenos Aires, overlooked by the cathedral and the famous pink presidential palace.

In his telephone message, Francis, or Francisco as he is known in the Spanish-speaking world, thanked the crowds for their prayers.