Jesus Christ, (a) Superstar!: Pope Francis as a ‘celebrity’

March 13, 2013, Vatican City—hardly the most auspicious day and place for a star to be born. Yet, a star—and a very brilliant and very unlikely one, at that—was indeed born, so to speak, in that location and on that date, when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires and former Jesuit provincial of that South American country, stepped out onto the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica as Pope Francis.

And, as if to emphasize that stellar moment, the enormous crowd that had gathered at Saint Peter’s Square that night not only applauded and cheered him, but—in a startling reminder of the media-saturated age we now live in—also brought out their digital cameras, smartphones and tablets, and took pictures of him, as though they were paparazzi.

Since that night, the media, both traditional and social, have followed Francis very closely; no gesture performed or word spoken was left undocumented. This zealous attention given to the pope is expected to continue, even increase, when he arrives in the Philippines on January 15 for a four-day visit that has “Mercy and Compassion”—two of the distinguishing features of his almost two-year-old papacy—as its theme. No doubt the local media will try to dissect Francis’s every public move during his stay here, as though he were on the red carpet of a glamorous and star-studded event in Hollywood.

If we think about it, Francis is, in a real sense, a huge celebrity. Consider how frequently he is photographed in various poses; how many people, prominent or not, pay attention to whatever he says and does, and how they respond to it; how he endured controversy in the past; how much ink, footage and gigabytes have been spent on him; and—perhaps, most tellingly—how many devoted followers he has on social-media sites. There are many celebrities—actors, models, certain people with little or no talent who have accomplished nothing significant to earn their fame—who are like him that way.

But, in another sense, the pope is what we can call the anti-celebrity celebrity, partly because of how he earned that status: his ascension to the chair of the Apostle Peter, which he never aspired for, but nevertheless accepted when he was chosen to occupy it. His age and physical appearance—78; already balding, with a paunch and walking with a slight limp—certainly do not fit most people’s idea of what a typical celebrity looks like. And the things he constantly talks about—poverty, capitalism, the economy, the need for meaningful dialogue and compassion for the marginalized, among many others—are not the usual subjects that most celebrities discuss with the media, except in the occasional fundraising event or congressional hearing.

So what makes Francis stand out as a celebrity, so much so that he has graced the covers of magazines ranging from Time and Fortune to Rolling Stone and The Advocate to Esquire and Vanity Fair? For some people, it’s pretty obvious. Here is, by most accounts, a simple, informal, humble and down-to-earth man thrust into the top position of a very old and very powerful institution, where matters are complicated and life is often formal, and where several of its administrators are arrogant and perched on pedestals—the ultimate outsider becoming the ultimate insider. Here is a man who is not out to entertain people, but to embolden and enlighten them. Here is a man who wields his influence well and who, it seems, never allows the Church hierarchy to unduly influence him. Here is a man who clearly practices what he preaches, who walks the talk, unlike so many entertainment personalities. True, it can be argued that some of the current crop of celebrities lead clean and honest lives, but not as captivatingly and vibrantly as Francis.

If there’s a man who has earned the privilege of being a celebrity, whether he likes it or not, it’s the pope, for he is someone worth celebrating. What makes him worthy are his values, which are both Catholic and catholic, and which are at risk of vanishing if we are not careful.

When Francis sets foot on the country later this week, we should remember to celebrate not just him and his arrival, but also the exceptional qualities that made him who he is today: courage, empathy, generosity, humility, intelligence and, yes, mercy. We expect him to express these qualities, whether in the halls of Malacañang or in the surroundings of the makeshift homes of the survivors of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in Leyte province. If we’re lucky, they might rub off on other people, including other celebrities. TMM