Oops, Mea culpa. That should have been “To” not “No”
He’s giving the Swiss Guards a run for their money. Did you folks hear how he got to St. Mary Major?
Apparently, that was not on the schedule. He pulled that out of his hat on the Loggia. To get the pope from point A to point B requires some coordination between Vatican police and Roman Police. Apparently, these arrangements were not in place, because they did not expect this. Normally, a newly elected pope celebrates mass with the cardinals his first morning.
The night before he said to the cardinals, “Are you guys going to be around?” They were a little confused. They told him that they were there for him. To which he responded that he wanted to change the mass from the morning to the evening so that he could go pray to the Madonna. That was another surprise for security. He pulled this one out of his zuchetto at 11:00 PM or so.
The next morning, he, the Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome and another cardinal boarded a service vehicle used by Vatican police to drive him to Saint Mary Major. When he got there, he got out of the car at the side door. If you have ever been to St. Mary Major, the side door is an alley. He walked in through the side door. The Dominicans were waiting for him at the front door. They were looking out for a motorcade.
That’s when he asked the driver to stop by the hotel to pickup his belongings and pay his bill. He would not allow the hotel to put the bill on the Vatican’s tab.
Today, he pulled another one on them. He insisted on taking the bus again. He just walked right past the car that was waiting for him.