Vatican

A Christian isn't a person who simply follows some commandments, but is a person who tries to think like Christ, "act like him, love like him," Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience.

More than 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square for the audience Wednesday; the crowd included a group whose presence Pope Francis described -- with a smile -- as "very important": directors of Argentina's San Lorenzo de Almagro soccer team, which has been his favorite team since he was a child.

Italian Cardinal Lorenzo Antonetti, who died Wednesday at the age of 90, dedicated many years as a "diligent colleague" at the Holy See, Pope Francis said.

The cardinal had spent more than 35 years at the service of the Vatican as a diplomat and a financial manager, and he'd been the papal delegate for the basilicas of St. Francis and St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi, Italy.

The pope said everywhere the cardinal worked "he expressed valued testimony of fervent priestly zeal and fidelity to the Gospel."

Christians need to recover the value of meekness, particularly when they are tempted to speak ill of one another or gossip about each other, Pope Francis said Tuesday during his early morning Mass.

Complaining behind each other's backs is a temptation that comes "from the Evil One who does not want the Spirit to dwell among us and give peace, meekness to the Christian community," the pope said.