The Pope pulled no punches in his first major speech about finance, made two months after his election in mid-March.
He criticised the ''tyranny'' of the financial markets, the worship of ''new idols'' such as a ''cult of money'' and said the global economic crisis had made life worse for millions worldwide by creating fear and desperation, diminishing joy and increasing violence and poverty as more people struggled to get by in ''undignified'' ways.
''Money has to serve, not to rule,'' he said, calling for more state control over economies but also for the Catholic Church to defend the poor and practise austerity itself.
Only a week later, in a speech during a visit to a food kitchen, he criticised what he called ''savage capitalism'' which had encouraged ''profit at any cost'', and called for the values of generosity and charity to be revived.
Given the ongoing effects of the financial crisis, the comments could not fail to engage, and such speeches are guaranteed to have a ready audience worldwide - even among non-Catholics.
In some respects, the world's economies, greed and corruption are easy pickings. Far easier, cynics might say, to rail against the failings of the corporate world and its contributions to inequality and injustice than examine any closer to home.
And in the case of the Catholic Church, the two overwhelming issues are still the worldwide sexual abuse scandal and the declining numbers of worshippers. Others include graft and infighting within the church's ruling body, the Roman Curia.
And Pope Francis' views are certainly nothing new - his predecessor Pope Benedict espoused similar opinions - albeit in a more intellectual, and less personally engaging, manner.
But perhaps a difference with Pope Francis - and the reason why his financial comments have a wider relevance - is that here is not just a world leader, a spiritual leader, a Jesuit, but a man, whose simple actions speak as loudly as his words.
His calls are not solely about the need for state and institutional reform, but are designed to encourage - and show by example - reform in individuals.
Since his election, he has continued to lead the way in showing restraint and shunning excess, choosing to live in the Vatican's more modest two-room guest house rather than the palatial apartment which has housed popes for the past century.
He reportedly often cooks his own meals and eats with other priests in a communal dining room. Immediately after his election, he shunned the Popemobile to travel from the Sistine Chapel to the Vatican, choosing to go by bus with the other cardinals.
He has chosen to wear simple garb and jewellery rather than the traditional papal vestments.
Symbolically, he has washed the feet of young offenders in prison, and will visit slums, prisons and hospitals treating Aids patients in his July visit to Brazil, his first international trip as pope.
And he has walked the financial talk too, overseeing changes to put his ''own house'' in order, including those under way at the scandal-ridden Vatican Bank to increase transparency.
His style clearly has appeal with the masses, but, as many commentators are saying, he is still enjoying a ''honeymoon'' period, and there is much hard work ahead to regain trust and faith from followers as he tackles the issues plaguing the Catholic Church.
But as long as he continues to practise what he preaches and maintain that ''whoever is the most high up must be at the service of others'', he will continue to inspire minds and hopefully change. That is worth banking on.
