Since ascending to the throne of St. Peter last spring, Pope Francis has been showered with praise by an unlikely cohort, the American secular media.

“Even atheists love the pope,” one recent CNN article announced. “The awesomeness that is Pope Francis,” a Daily Beast headline affirmed. His selection this week as Time magazine’s vaunted person of the year completed the canonization. “I may not be religious, but I damn sure love this pope,” avowed one Twitter user, echoing the remarks of countless others. Undoubtedly, small talk about Catholicism in waiting rooms and grocery-store checkout lines will see an exponential increase this week.

The popular read on Francis is that he represents a welcome break from grim-faced pontiffs of yore — a raw, refreshingly modern reflection of Catholic virtue. In proclaiming that his overriding spiritual concern is care for the poor, Francis has infused the Vatican with long-awaited humility and grace after years of scandal.

During the first few months of his papacy, a trickle of anecdotes illustrating Francis’ everyman frugality (he drives a used car!) and shunning of opulent wares (he doesn’t wear that big hat!) moved pundits once skeptical of the church to profess their admiration. It began when he forwent the lavish apostolic apartments to live in the Casa Santa Marta, a more discreet guesthouse where he could mingle with visiting clergymen. USA Today reported in June that journalists were so “delighted” with Francis’ first address to media that their “applause and popping flashbulbs brought to mind a glitzy Hollywood event.” Some even “kissed the pope’s ring.”

Then in November came the apostolic exhortation in which Francis advanced a critique of “unfettered capitalism” and declared “no to a financial system which rules rather than serves.” What followed was nothing short of an avalanche of affection from the left. Reporters from liberal media outlets exulted. “This is a pope that is willing to say things that other popes haven’t said in contemporary time,” enthused Ed Schultz of MSNBC. “And it strikes right at the heart of Republican policies, and the conservatives, they just can’t take it.”

Meanwhile, right-wing pundits hyperventilated about Francis’ alleged Marxism. Said Rush Limbaugh, “It’s sad because this pope makes it very clear he doesn’t know what he’s talking about when it comes to capitalism and socialism and so forth.”

But in declaring that Francis heralded some unprecedented rupture in Roman Catholic thought, both sides got it wrong.

Francis has managed to fashion himself as something fresh and appealing, but he did not become Time’s person of the year by radically reimagining anything. He did it by mastering the art of gesture and symbolism. Herein lies the crucial component to understanding Francis’ image: his keen eye toward public relations as matter of theology.

Francis’ rapid transformation into universally celebrated celebrity figure — despite promulgating familiar church doctrines under a more easygoing guise — is ultimately a testament to the current Vatican PR operation, headed by former Fox News reporter Greg Burke. A member of the ascetic Opus Dei order, Burke is wedded to lifelong celibacy and professional communications services. Prior to Fox, Burke did a stint as the Rome correspondent for — you guessed it — Time magazine.