diff --git a/includes/common.inc b/includes/common.inc
index e1936c015573ed2712e1f4bf2d494c8f091c7b86..f4c111454d26c0cc4a59fa8752f55989b71c14a3 100644
--- a/includes/common.inc
+++ b/includes/common.inc
@@ -765,7 +765,8 @@ function page_footer() {
   }
 }
 
-$config = conf_init();
+// Load configuration variables, overriding values set in conf.php
+$conf = variable_init(isset($conf) ? $conf : array());
 
 unset($conf);