Vatican City ? Pope Benedict XVI reinforced his caretaker image Thursday, reappointing the entire Vatican hierarchy chosen by his populist predecessor, John Paul II. At the same time, the new pontiff sought to dispel any impression that he was aloof or dour.

He waved and smiled at crowds gathered along the short stretch between the Vatican gates and his old apartment, where he spent some time in the afternoon. “Viva il papa!” some shouted. The pope, dressed in all white, raised both hands in a greeting.

His schedule also shows hints of the openness and symbolic gestures that were at the heart of John Paul II’s reign: a meeting with journalists Saturday, an outdoor Mass to formally take the papal throne Sunday and a visit Monday to a church built over the tomb of St. Paul — an apostle with deep significance for Roman Catholics and Christian Orthodox.

In the first days of his papacy, the 78-year-old Benedict has projected two clear styles.

One was expected: the confident and well-prepared Vatican insider who was one of John Paul’s closest advisers for more than two decades. His decisions on the top-level posts came quickly — some popes have struggled for weeks — and showed continuity with his predecessor.

There were no changes in any major Vatican office all the way up to the No. 2 slot, the secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. The only question remains who will fill the powerful job that the new pope held since 1981: overseeing church doctrine and punishing those who stray.

The second image emerging — a humble and welcoming pastor — has caught many off guard.

The pontiff’s name, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, became synonymous among Catholics with the church’s strictest factions and earned him nicknames that played off his German background, such as “God’s rottweiler.”

But top prelates and other church experts say it was an unfair reputation.