An Italian teenager who wrote to Pope Francis was shocked when the informal Argentinian phoned him for a chat.
In the latest of series of calls which embody Pope Francis’s unstuffy style, the pontiff rang Stefano Cabizza, an IT student from Padua, for a jokey conversation after he wrote to him about his life and hopes of finding a job after graduating.
Mr Cabizza said he was lost for words when a voice said: “This is Pope Francis.”
"I couldn't believe it. We laughed and joked for eight minutes," he told Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino, adding: "It was certainly the best day of my life."
Francis started by asking Mr Cabizza to address him using the informal Italian word tu, rather than the formal lei. Mr Cabizza reported that Francis reminded him that Jesus and the apostles used tu. "They were friends as you and I are now and I am used to using 'tu' with friends," Mr Cabizza said Francis told him.
The student said Francis blessed him and asked him to pray for him. The pope had already called him once, Mr Cabizza added, but called back because he was out.
It was also reported this month that the pope rang a man in central Italy who had written to him after his brother was murdered.
Michele Ferri (40) said he was stunned to pick up the phone and hear a voice say: “Ciao Michele, it’s Pope Francis.”
“He told me he had cried when he read the letter I had written him,” Mr Ferri said.
Francis’s disregard for protocol was evident days after his election as pope in March when he called his newsagent in Buenos Aires to cancel his newspaper subscription, explaining he was staying in Rome for good.
Francis needed to persuade the newsagent that it was not a joke call. He also called his dentist to cancel an appointment. – (Guardian service)