The prelate said that the new pontiff was so affable and humble that the latter once held the door for him when they "bumped into each other in the corridor".
"I laughed in embarrassment and said it was I who should be holding the door for him," Cardinal Gracias said.
"For a week afterwards, we met regularly at breakfast, lunch and dinner so I got to know him closely. He would frequently say 'Pray for me'. He said that even when I met him to take leave as I prepared to return to India," he added.
The quick result to an election that was expected to last several days surprised not only media observers but the elector-candidates themselves.
"Truly it was the hand of God at work given that Pope Francis was not a high-profile candidate, yet the decision went in his favor in merely the fifth round.
“As the vote count touched the magic two-thirds majority of 76-77 a burst of applause went up. Pope Francis was seated right across me. He raised his hand and smiled as if signaling us to stop. Then he mostly sat with his head bent in prayer and hardly looked up," the archbishop said.
Cardinal Gracias said that he is convinced that the Church is in capable hands.
"From the Asian perspective, we wished for a spiritual leader who can be the moral voice of the world, even if it is a lonely voice," he said.
The cardinal wished that the pontiff would take personal security more seriously given his inclination to break the security cordon to mingle with the crowds.
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