Pope Francis: 9 interesting things you don't know about Catholic leader

Pope Francis is the leader of the Roman Catholic church.

This makes him one of the worlds biggest figure, still, there is a lot most people do not know about him.

Here are nine interesting things you have never heard about Catholic leader.

Pope Francis is not his real name

Many years ago, the Pope was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Shocker, right?

He was on December 17, 1936, to parents, Mario and Regina (Sivori) Bergoglio.

Note —  this is not so strange because it is a  tradition in the Catholic church for Popes to get a new name once they are appointed.

Pope Francis as a young boy

 

His current name pays homage to a Saint

On appointment, popes get to choose their own name. Pope Francis chose to pay homage to St. Francis of Assisi of Italy.

He is a well-known servant to the poor, who was born into a wealthy home but chose to devote himself to helping the poor in Rome. Pope Francis is the first one to choose St. Francis as his namesake.

Pope Francis is a very interesting character

 

He does not hate gay people

Four years ago, the Pope Francis  caused a controversy when he did not outrightly condemn homosexuality.

During an interview with reporters, he shocked people by saying, "Who am I to judge?" in reference to gay people.

He continued by saying: “If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They should not be marginalized.”

Officially, he is opposed to gay marriage and gay adoption. He was once quoted saying that same-sex marriage is "an attack on God's plan"

He likes pop music

Babble reports that the Catholic leader is a fan of One Direction. According to the pope, his favourite song is “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful,” adding that it is “a great pop tune with a killer hook.”

The album is called Wake Up! It features the pope singing hymns and giving speeches

He used to be a bouncer

Once upon a time, Pope Francis worked as a nightclub bouncer. He did this to earn money as a student.

According to Express, this was before beginning his seminary studies.

After that, he was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1969, became Argentina’s provincial superior of the Society of Jesus from 1973 to 1979.

Next, he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, then a Cardinal in 2001 before finally becoming a pope.

In 2013, he became the first pope ever to be named Person of the Year by Time

 

He is quite funny

Being a pope is a serious job, one this Catholic leader approaches with a sense of humour.

Upon becoming pope, he reportedly told other cardinals, “May God forgive you for what you have done.”

His funny side was once photographed when he was seen trying on a red nose used by clowns

Pope Francis used to be a romantic

Telegraph reports that he once wrote a love letter to a girl in his neighbourhood when he was 12 years old.

He said, “If I don’t marry you, I’m going to be a priest.” He was quoted saying, “She was one of a group of friends I went dancing with. But then I discovered my religious calling.”

He has only one lung

This was caused by an infection that he suffered as a young man.

He has had many firsts:

First and only pope to be on the cover of “Rolling Stone”,

To make a pop-rock CD,

To be-be honoured as “Person of the Year”,