Pope Francis prays for guidance at a Rome basilica on his first full day as pontiff.<br/> <br />The 76-year-old Argentine had barely been Pope for 12 hours when he quietly left the Vatican on Thursday morning to pray at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.<br/> <br />Priests at the basilica said the visit was a surprise and that they had only been given 10 minutes warning that the new pope would be joining them.<br/> <br />Francis is taking the helm at a time of great crisis with morale among the faithful hit by scandals and infighting in the Vatican bureaucracy.<br/> <br />The 266th pontiff in the Church's history, Francis is the first to come from South America.
