20 Interesting Facts About Pope Francis

The Pope is perhaps one of the most well-known figures in the world, and as the leader of the Catholic Church, he is the epitome of goodness and holiness. Most of us know Pope Francis as the guy who travels in a bulletproof car, shakes hands and blesses members of the public as he goes along, but there’s more to him than meets the eye.

1. Pope Francis was born on 17^th December 1936.
2. He was born in Bueno Aires, Argentina.
3. He first became a priest in 1969, but did not become Pope until 2013.
4. No other Pope in Catholic history has had the name Francis, and he is also the first Jesuit to be elected as Pope.
5. The world knows him as Francis, but his real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He chose the name Francis in honour of St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic friar born in 12^th century Italy.
6. In his pre-priest days, Pope Francis used to enjoy dancing the tango with his then-girlfriend.
7. While some may think he studied Theology, Pope Francis actually studied for a Master’s Degree in Chemistry and used to teach the subject in high schools.
8. Back in Buenos Aires, he worked as a bouncer in a bar – a far cry from the Vatican!
9. At the time of his election, medical professionals were worried about the health of Pope Francis. The missing lung which caused their concern was removed way back when he was a teen, but he is in very good health now.
10. His Holiness isn’t one to sit back and get waited on hand and foot, choosing rather to cook his own meals. He’s a big fan of cooking, and rumour has it that one of his speciality dishes is paella.
11. Pope Francis certainly isn’t new to the papal world. When Pope Benedict XVI won the election in 2005, Pope Francis was a runner-up.
12. As loving and caring as he seems, we’re not entirely sure about his stance on the issue of gay marriage. In 2001, he visited AIDS patients, going so far as to wash and kiss their feet. However, he has openly stated that gay marriage isn’t included in ‘God’s plan’, and caused a bit of uproar in 2015 when he allegedly had a secret meeting with Kim Davis, a Kentucky clerk who was jailed for refusing to marry same-sex couples.
13. Pope Francis likes to keep up with the modern world, and tweets to over 7 million Twitter followers on a regular basis. For the Francis fans out there, you can follow him @Pontifex and receive his words of wisdom on your Twitter homepage.
14. The papal leader speaks fluent Spanish, Italian and Latin, and doesn’t struggle too much with English, German, Ukrainian, French and Portuguese either. A man of many talents (or should we say languages?)!
15. Pope Francis wouldn’t say no to a game of football, since he’s quite a fan of the sport. He still supports the San Lorenzo football team from his home town in Argentina. He has also been gifted many football shirts, and now has rather a large collection.
16. The Bible isn’t the only book he enjoys delving into. In fact, he has read The Lord of the Rings and various other books by J. R. R. Tolkien.
17. He is currently a citizen of three different countries; Argentina, Italy and Vatican.
18. Rather than bask in his new-found fame as leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis decided to live in a small guest house in the Vatican, rather than the traditional apartments in which previous leaders resided.
19. In 2013, the same year he was elected as Pope, he was named as Time’s ‘Person of the Year’. He was chosen for this title because of the influence that he had already had in the short space of time as leader.
20. Pope Francis has been given many extravagant gifts over the years, and one of them was a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. However, rather than keeping it for his own pleasure and adventures, he sold it off and used the money to benefit homeless people. What a saint!