Pope Francis I,speaking to an overflow crowd of more than 150,000 in St Peters Square,urged the world on Sunday to be more forgiving and merciful and not so quick to condemn other peoples failures.
A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just, he told the cheering crowd from the window of the papal apartments overlooking the square.
The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina spoke both as pope and as parish priest earlier he said Mass for a few hundred Vatican workers in a tiny church just inside the city-states walls.
Brothers and sisters,good morning, he said,using a familiar style that has become his hallmark. He wove his address from the window as well as his earlier homily around a Gospel story.
The pope said people should be open to Gods mercy,even those who have committed grave sins. The Lord never tires of forgiving,never! It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness, he said at the Mass.
His last words before he left the window were: Have a nice Sunday and have a nice lunch.