THE NONVERBAL REVOLUTION OF POPE FRANCIS (by courtesy of the Media and McLuhan) Peter Gonsalves Salesianum 76 (2014) 529-536 As I put the inishing touches to this article in the second week of Octo- ber 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is entering his eighth month as Pope Fran- cis. In a little over two hundred days of his papacy, he has already secured a special place in history for the informal titles he has garnered ever since he assumed oice in mid-March. He has been called ‘the pope of surprises’, 1 ‘the pope for the poor’, 2 ‘the people’s pope’, 3 ‘a miracle of humility in an age of vanity’, 4 ‘a man of peace and purpose and a voice for the voiceless’. 5 One journalist called him ‘the least popey Pope in papal history’. 6 Most 1 Lisa W angsness, “Pope Francis proves to be a pontif of surprises” in he Boston Globe, 27-07-2013, http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/07/26/pope-francis-proves-pon- tif-surprises/BSfrY2tEAGZIXcyI2CHXsN/story.html (04-08-2013). 2 Howard Chua-Eoan , “A Pope for the Poor” in Time, 29-07-2013, http://content. time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2147719,00.html (24-08-2013). 3 “he People’s Pope” is the title on the cover of Time Magazine, 29-04-2013. 4 Elton John’s words in Vanity Fair, see “Per Elton John: ‘Francesco è un miracolo di umiltà nell’era della vanità’” in Zenit, http://www.zenit.org/it/articles/per-elton-john- francesco-e-un-miracolo-di-umilta-nell-era-della-vanita (20-07-2013). 5 “Un Secretary General: Pope Francis is ‘A Voice For the Voiceless’, Ban Ki-moon Speaks to Press About Audience with Holy Father”, Zenit, 10-04-2013, http://www.zenit.org/en/ articles/un-secretary-general-pope-francis-is-a-voice-for-the-voiceless (15-04-2013). 6 Simon Usborne, “Just call me Frank: Is Pope Francis the most down-to-earth ever?” in he Independent, 27-03- 2013, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/just-