Mass appeal in his clearly Christian concern for the most neglected is Pope Francis' distinctive charism.
Everyone is noticing, even those who seem not to care about anything. Somehow they seen to notice when someone, even in the name of Christ, cares about them.
Everyone loves to be loved! because everyone needs love!
God is love.
But the love of God is a relationship which elicits your life of love in generous response to His!
The magazine article plays up the contrasts of appeal between Pope Benedict and Pope Francis, and has a decidedly liberal revolutionary slant, but is nonetheless an fairly good article extolling the present popularity of the Holy Roman Pontiff in an otherwise rather sleazy American journal.