Just a little over a year ago, the Catholic Church underwent a change between Popes when Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI resigned in early 2013, leading to the election of Pope Francis. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has sparked a change in style among the atmosphere of the Catholic community. He has drawn attention to the Catholic Church not only as a result of his style of leading, but also because of the selfless simple life the he chooses to live whilst being offered access to countless, luxurious ammentites. While the old traditions of Catholicism maintained traditional and antiquated methods of both structuring the Vatican and the followers of the religion (Catholicism), the new Pope is shaking the foundation upon which it all stands – rather favorably.

Pope Francis, the 266th leader of the Catholic Church, was selected by his predecessor, Benedict XVI, and John Paul II, who were both very conservative. Their intention was to inaugurate a Pope who they believed could help “fix” the Vatican. CNBC News compared the Catholic Church over the past few decades to a major corporation: one whose product is no longer selling like it once did, reputation tainted by corruption and scandal, and as of recently, took part in the action that most big businesses seem to do when they find themselves in trouble – announce the retirement of the CEO. In this scenario, the Vatican serves as an isolated headquarter of the big business, the source of the mess including: various scandals, leaked documents, and corruption of the church itself. When electing Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and the first from the Americas, it was not expected that the new Pope would choose a radical reform of the Church doctrine. At the same time, Pope Francis is really unlike any prior to him.

Traditionally, when elected, the Pope lives in an extravagant apartment in the Apostolic Palace, but this is not the case for Pope Francis who made the decision to live in a simple three-room suite in the Vatican guesthouse. And this is certainly not the first account of selfless actions made by him. Pope Francis is quite opposed to living the lavish lifestyle that is accumulated with the position as Pope. The seventy-seven year old prefers to carry his own luggage rather than be assisted. In addition, he insists on traveling in a reasonable vehicle instead of a flashy limo. Furthermore, he is incredibly involved with the public, and not just Catholic people, but anyone! The Pope frequently washes the feet of random people. He loves interacting with people and enjoys seeing the good in people. Such benevolent acts reflect Pope Francis’ central beliefs to controversial issues despite the traditional Catholic approach.

Pope Francis shocked many world-wide with his attitude towards common issues that the Catholic Church is traditionally opposed to, including homosexuals, divorce, and birth control. Specifically, his response regarding his opinion of homosexuals during a news conference during a flight from Brazil to Rome, was: “If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?” The answer was a bold move on the Pope’s part, but did draw a lot of attention to an issue that, previously, was consistently responded to in the traditional Catholic way. Pope Francis additionally wants to see a change in the approach to rather than the teaching of topics like homosexuality, divorce, and birth control. He doesn’t necessarily want to completely change the position of the topics, but adapt a more “welcoming” attitude towards them. Another remarkable desire from the new Pope is for the debate regarding whether or not the exception for divorced and re-married Catholics to take part in communion should be allowed or not. The fact that he wants the debate to take place alone, is an outstanding change in the traditional function of the Catholic Church.

It is unclear if Pope Francis will be able to thoroughly “clean up the house” of the Vatican, especially since some parts of the Vatican don’t want to be “fixed.” Nonetheless, the new Pope has made several amazing alterations in just the short time since he was inaugurated; there are no doubts regarding the intent of any of his future actions.