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VATICAN CITY – About a million people packed St. Peter's Square on Tuesday morning for the installation mass for Pope Francis.

The new leader of the Catholic Church took his vows and was presented his papal ring. In his homily, he asked the crowds to protect the environment and help the poor.

The pope arrived at the mass in an open-top jeep instead of the Pope Mobile. He took a longer route to St. Peter's Square so he could greet the crowds. He even got out of the car to bless a man in a wheelchair.

According to a CNN/ORC poll, most American Catholics like Pope Francis but want him to institute change in the church. In all, 84 percent approved of his selection, however three-quarters said they'll be more likely follow their own consciences than his teachings.

Ninety percent want the church to take tougher action against sexual abuse by priests, 75 percent want to be able to use birth control and more than 60 percent say women should be ordained and that priests should be allowed to marry.

The Vatican says the pope has selected a gold-plated ring believed to have once belonged to Pope Paul VI's secretary.

His coat of arms will be the same one he used as archbishop of Buenos Aires, but with a bishop's miter and gold and silver keys - both papal symbols - added.

Tuesday's ceremony will include more than 130 government delegations, and representatives from Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain faiths.

The simplified mass is expected to last for two hours.

On Monday, the pope held a private audience with the president of his native Argentina, Cristina Fernandez.

The two had disagreed over Fernandez's implementation of policies such as mandatory sex education and free contraception.

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VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis made the first Sunday window appearance of his papacy to a crowd of more than 100,000 in Saint Peter's Square.

Francis delivered off-the-cuff remarks about God's power to forgive, instead of reading from a written speech. The crowd meanwhile roared in delight.

Earlier, Pope Francis made an impromptu appearance near the Vatican, prompting cheers of “Francesco'' from the crowd.

Francis walked to an open gate near the edge of Vatican City. Ahead of a mass, he later celebrated in the parish church for Vatican residents.

Francis then went over to the chief of his security detail and appeared to indicate he wanted to greet two priests in the crowd, who approached and embraced him.

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HUDSON VALLEY, N.Y. -- Local Catholics are excited about their new pope and many tuned in Sunday to watch Jorge Bergogolio celebrate his first Sunday mass as Pope Francis.

"I thought it was a beautiful mass and everyone has told us how humble he is and I could see the humility in his demeanor in the way he celebrated the mass,” said Irene Kafel, Town of Ulster resident.

Kafel said she hopes Pope Francis will help grow the church and spread the Catholic faith.

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ALBANY, N.Y. -- Here in Albany, Catholics we talked to seemed excited and hopeful about Pope Francis, especially since the new Pontiff comes from the new world.

"I think it's a breath of fresh air. I think it's great he comes from Latin America, where the faith is really strong; and, I hope he does good things to move the church forward,” said Albany resident Joshua Caldon.

Caldon also said he likes the choice of the name Francis, bringing the church’s focus on helping the poor.