He's either a man of profound character, incredibly manipulative, or both. I think the former.

But he's not exactly a careful theologian. I remember that for a while there, Francis would make a really sweeping remark, and then other officials in the Vatican would have to nuance it and back it down; it seems he can let his rhetoric get away from him. Plus there's that infamous footnote in Amoris Laetitia that no one can agree how to interpret.

But if I'm going to speculate, I don't think the cardinals who voted him in were expecting a careful theologian. He seems like the right pope for the time. The Church (rightly?) has a pretty bad reputation, at least in my part of the world, but Francis has actually changed that somewhat. I have non-Christian friends who have remarked on how they want to think about doing Church again because of Francis' values.