Pope Francis is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officioas Bishop of Rome and sovereign of Vatican City. Ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, Bergoglio served as Argentina’s provincial superior of the Society of Jesus from 1973 to 1979. He was made archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio’s name was little known outside his homeland in the days before Pope Benedict’s resignation. After the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. On February 28, 2013, cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel to vote for his successor. Many names were brought forward, but few expected that the next pope would be the humble Jesuit. Surprisingly, on March 13, the papal conclave chose Bergoglio as his successor.
No one would say that he or she has never heard of Pope Francis, but there are some lesser-known facts that will make you more interested in the holy father. Read on to learn more about the Catholic world priest.
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Pope Francis Bio, Education
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied philosophy at the Catholic University of Buenos Aires and obtained a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires. He then worked at the Hickethier-Bachmann laboratory, where he worked as a chemical technologist in the food department. Before joining the Jesuits, Bergoglio worked as a bouncer and janitor and conducted tests in a chemical laboratory. In the years that followed, the Pope taught literature, psychology, philosophy and theology at the Immaculate Conception College in Santa Fe and at the Colegio del Salvatore in Buenos Aires before becoming Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Pope Francis family
Pope Francis was the eldest of five children of Mario José Bergoglio, an Italian immigrant chartered accountant, and his wife Regina María Sívori, a homemaker of northern Italian origin (Piedmontese-Genoese). The names of his siblings are María Elena Bergoglio, Marta Regina Bergoglio, Alberto Bergoglio and Oscar Adrian Bergoglio.
Pope Francis Facts
1. Known for exceptional humility and liberality
Pope Francis is the most humble and well-known liberal priest in the history of the Catholic Church. From the beginning of his papacy, Francis has sought to make the Church more humble and accessible to all walks of life. The following is one of many vivid instances in which the Pope showed his humble nature:
- Francis preferred not to live in papal office, in residence in the Apostolic Palace, but to remain in Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican guest house, where he can receive visitors and hold meetings. He is the first pope since Pope Pius X to live outside the papal apartments. Pope Francis still appears at the window of the Apostolic Palace for the Sunday Angelus.
- Favoring simpler robes without ornament, he also rejected the traditional papal mozzetta cape in his choice, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscator ring and retaining the same pectoral cross he had when he was cardinal.
- Bergoglio had made it a habit to celebrate the Maundy Thursday ritual of washing feet in places like prisons, hospitals, retirement homes and slums.
- After Pope JP2 was shot, they tried to keep the Pope safe by building the Pope’s Mobile, but Francis waved it off. On the night of his election, he rode the Cardinals back to his hotel by bus instead of being driven in the papal car.
- When he was elected Pope, he chose not to wear the red shoes made for him, but to continue wearing his old, worn-out black shoes from Buenos Aires.
- A cardinal with access to the famed archbishop’s chef, Francis cooked his own meals in his small apartment in downtown Buenos Aires.
- As pope, he made a surprise visit to the Vatican cafeteria to eat with local workers.
2. Francis is the Pope of many firsts.
He is the first Jesuit pope, the first from America, the first from the southern hemisphere and the first non-European pope in almost 1300 years after the Syrian Gregory III. In the year 741.
3. Health Crisis
At the age of 21, Bergoglio suffered from life-threatening pneumonia and three cysts. He had shortly afterwards cut out part of a lung. However, this has not significantly affected the dad’s health as he is in generally good health.
4. Desires of youth before the priesthood
Bergoglio fell in love with a girl in his neighborhood when he was very young and would like to marry her if he didn’t succeed in becoming a priest. The experience briefly made him doubt his ability to continue his priestly career. Unfortunately or more fortunately on the way to proposing to the girl he loved. He passed a church to go to confession and something that changed his life happened to him. He recalls his experience in the following statement:
Something strange happened to me in thisconfession. I don’t know what it was, but it changed my life. … It was the surprise, the astonishment of a chance encounter. I realized that they were waiting for me… From that moment onwards, God is the one in the lead – “bring it on you”. You want to find him, but he finds you first. “
He also said that he loves tango and actually had a girlfriend when he was young who he was dancing with at the time.
5. He emphasized mercy and concern for the poor
At his inaugural Mass, he called on the Church to Pope Francis is known for emphasizing God’s mercy and concern for the poor. This can be traced back to his episcopal motto. “ Miserando atque eligendo ” which he derived from the homily of Saint Bede on Matthew9: 9-13: “because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him”, as well as his choice of the papal name, which he gave in honor of St. Francis of Assisi chose because he is a lover of the poor.
Some of his most notable gestures were: He celebrated one of his birthdays by donating 400 sleeping bags to the homeless in Rome. He occasionally sneaks out to visit the homeless at night. He gave up the gift of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a leather jacket valued at about $327,000 to charity.
6. He loves family so much and supports M Arriage even when it involves priests
In 2000, Bergoglio was the only church official to reconcile with Jerónimo Podestá, a former bishop who had been suspended as a priest after defying the 1972 Argentine Revolutionary military dictatorship. He defended Podestá’s wife from Vatican attacks on their marriage.
7. The first priest to openly say that everything could be saved, Catholic or not
In May 2013, Francis said that all who do good can be redeemed through Jesus, including atheists. Francis declared that God “redeemed us all, all of us, with the blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! … Even the atheists, everyone!
8. He is an avid supporter of San Lorenzo Football Club and a basketball fan
Pope Francis was a lifelong supporter of SanLorenzo de Almagro football club, one of the biggest football clubs in Argentina. He is also a huge basketball fan and was awarded a custom jersey by the Boston Celtics.
9. He is multilingual
He speaks fluent Italian, German and Spanish, as well as a little bit of English, French and Portuguese. He can also speak a bit of Piedmontese dialect.
10. Public Honors
In 2013, American news magazine The Time named Pope Francis the Person of the Year, a prestigious title given to those who “did the most in influencing the events of the year.” The Pope graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on January 27, 2014. He is one of the top nominees for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize (2015).
11. Favorites
- His favorite painting is The White Crucifixion, painted by Marc Chagall in 1938. It shows Jesus being crucified on the cross wearing a prayer shawl as a symbol that he is a Jew. The painting originally showed a soldier with a swastika on his armband burning down a synagogue.
- His favorite saint is Saint Teresa of Lisieux.
- His favorite person is his grandmother Rosa.
- His favorite place is his home. That’s why he fears traveling when he was still a priest in Buenos Aires.
- Bergoglio is also a fan of Tita Merello’s films, Neorealism and Tango Dancing Milonga .
12. He is an outspoken climate protection activist
In June 2015, Pope Francis released an encyclical on global care entitled Laudato si’ on climate change, environmental protection and sustainable development, seen as an important step towards meaningful climate action by believers and religious leaders.
13. Full papal title
The Pope’s official style in English is His Holiness Pope Francis ; in Latin, Franciscus, Episcopus Romae . Holy Father is another honor often used for popes. Its full title, which is rarely used, is:
“His Holiness Francis, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pope of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of Vatican City State, Servant of the Servants of God. “
14. Things to know
Pope Frances often freezes when he has an unexpected experience. He said it happened to him like he was paralyzed.
Pope Francis and his fortune
Pope Francis is worth an estimated $25 million, despite his many extravagant donations.
