Jennifer Lawrence’s unconventional ascent to Hollywood darling is well documented. Less than a month after the best-actress-Oscar winner secured her place in America’s hearts by tumbling on her way up to the Academy Awards podium, joking around with members of the press afterward, and appearing so easygoing about the evening that she flicked off reporters, Pope Francis appears to have ripped several pages out of Lawrence’s playbook during his first 72 hours as pontiff.He may not have confessed to taking a shot before his appearance on the St. Peter’s Basilica balcony, but he has already showed little interest in modifying himself for the media or his newfound fame, winningly recovered from a stumble caught on camera, and actually appeared somewhat easygoing (at least by pontiff standards).
The New York Times reported on his down-to-Earth-ness following Wednesday’s election, noting that Pope Francis insisted on paying his Vatican City hotel bill on Thursday (maybe God will reimburse?). Additionally, he opted for simple black shoes instead of Benedict’s flashy red loafers, shared a minivan with several cardinals on the way to dinner*, and, proving that he is not a central character from The Devil Wears Prada, allowed others to join him in the elevator—even though pontiffs usually “descend alone.” (*It is uncertain whether Francis called shotgun or elected to climb over fellow passengers for one of the less-favorable rear seats, but said information would be telling.) Channeling J. Law’s chatty sensibility, Francis’s first homily was “conversational . . . albeit dense in biblical allusions,” in the Times’s appraisal. Photographic evidence that he used the subway in Argentina further suggests that Pope Francis is modest, mass-transportation tolerant, and maybe just Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from the block.
More recently, Pope Francis suffered a vaguely embarrassing Jennifer Lawrence–like moment when he stumbled on the stairs during a meeting with the College of the Cardinals in the Vatican. After his black loafer apparently caught under his white vestments, similar to how Lawrence’s heel caught on her flowing pink Dior gown, Pope Francis tripped but caught himself before shaking the hand of Angelo Sodano, the dean of the College of Cardinals—who, for the sake of this Latin Oscars reenactment, assumes the role of Jean Dujardin. The humanizing moment (embedded below) has already spread its way across the Internet, being viewed by people who may not normally be interested in a foreign-language Catholic Church meeting. Viral Vatican success?
Unfortunately for Pope Francis, his 78 hours’ worth of likeability is already being challenged by accusations that he failed to stop serious human-rights abuses during Argentina’s Dirty War in the 1970s. Even after the Vatican rushed to his defense—we all know that a simple vote of confidence from the trouble-plagued Catholic Church may not be enough to save his reputation—we think a more serious strategy from Lawrence’s playbook may be in order. To wit: a surprise encounter with Jack Nicholson, who just happens to be lurking behind Francis’s papal throne during the next filmed Vatican assembly?
Vanity Fair