Pope Francis Age, Wife, Biography, Facts & More
Some Lesser Known Facts About Pope Francis
- Does Pope Francis smoke?: Not Known
- Does Pope Francis drink alcohol?: Not Known
- Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European pope since the Syrian Gregory III in 741.
- Pope is a polyglot. He can speak Spanish, Latin and Italian fluently and understanding German, French, Portuguese, English, and Ukrainian.
- His Father Mario José Bergoglio was an Italian immigrant accountant born in Portacomaro (Province of Asti) in Italy’s Piedmont region.
- The Pontiff has only one functioning lung. He had his right lung removed in his youth due to an infection, but he appears to be in good health even at the ripe age of almost 80.
- Before he became a Jesuit, Pope Francis used to work as a bouncer in a Buenos Aries bar to help pay for his studies.
- During the 1960´s, He taught literature, philosophy, psychology, and theology at several high schools in Argentina.
- When he was 12 years old, he fell in love with a girl from his neighborhood. He reportedly told her, “If I don’t marry you, I’m going to be a priest.” Even in this case, the Pontiff kept his word.
- Currently, Pope holds the citizenship of three countries; Argentina, Italy and Vatican City.
- In 2013, news magazine the TIME named Pope Francis the Person of the Year, a prestigious title was given to the one who “has done the most to influence the events of the year”.
- In 2001, as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he washed and kissed the feet of 12 AIDS patients at an Argentine hospice.
- Pope Francis came out strong against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Francis has branded the sexual abuse of children by priests an ugly crime saying he would show zero tolerance for anyone in the church who perpetrated such crimes against children.