Bio: Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Florence, Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936) is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church. Francis was elected pope on March 13, 2013, which was the second day of the 2013 papal conclave, when he took the papal name Francis. Before his seminary studies in Buenos Aires, when he was still Jorge, the Pope worked as both a chemical technician and nightclub bouncer. He became ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and went onto be Argentina’s provincial superior of the Society of Jesus. Francs is both the first Jesuit pope, as well as the first from the America. He is particularly known for his humility, as well as his somewhat progressive views.
Best Known For:
Pope Francis is best known for serving as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church.
Personal Life:
Jorge is the eldest of five children. He was born to an Italian immigrant accountant, Mario Jose Bergoglio, and his wife, Regina Maria Sivori, a housewife. When he was 21, he fell ill with a life-threateining bout of pneumonia and three cysts. Shortly after, he had part of his lung removed. He has a passion for tango dancing and the traditional music of Argentina.
Pope Francis experienced an uncomfortable encounter with an intrusive fan while greeting the public in the Vatican on December 31. When a woman latched onto his hand and wouldn’t let go, he slapped her hand and appeared to give her a scolding.
Pope Francis just told a victim of clerical sexual abuse that his sexuality ‘did not matter’ & that God made him gay. Read about the accepting words he offered the sexual abuse survivor that signal a huge departure from the Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality!
Call it a miracle, but President Donald Trump and Pope Francis somehow paused their long-standing feud to act friendly when they met for the first time on May 24. Trump, who once called the pope a disgrace, said the pontiff was ‘fantastic’ and that he’ll never forget this meeting!
So. Awkward. The timing of this photo couldn’t be any more embarrassing. Just hours before Bill O’Reilly was fired by Fox News amid sexual harassment allegations on Wednesday, April 19, he was shaking hands with the holiest person in the world — The Pope!
An adorable 3-year-old girl had the nerve to swipe Pope Francis’ skullcap during a greeting at the Vatican, and his reaction could NOT have been more perfect! Watch the gutsy toddler grab the pope’s zucchetto right off his head here — something that he never even saw coming!
Pope Francis had a message for all nursing mothers during a ceremony at the Sistine Chapel on Jan. 8 — ‘go ahead and breastfeed!’ Yep, the pope is TOTALLY all for women feeding their babies in public, and we’re kind of loving that he so vocally voiced his support. Even better, he told the moms in the audience to do so ‘without fear’ because, after all, Jesus was once a hungry baby too!
In a year that has been terrifying for women’s rights, there’s one small, positive development. Pope Francis has granted Catholic priests the right to forgive abortion in confessions. The announcement comes after Donald Trump and Mike Pence, two men who vehemently oppose abortion, were elected into the White House.