Pope Francis: Bouncer And Lord Of The Rings Fan. What Do You Know About The Head Of Catholic Church?

He was standing in front of the club door, checking tickets, and when someone became aggressive, he intervened. This is how the Holy Father Francis made a living in his youth. At the same time, he never wanted to become a pope, with which he confided in his sister. When he joined the Roman Catholic Church as a clergyman, his love for girls had to go. He himself experienced how it feels being in love.

What he is missing the most is that he is no longer a relatively unknown cardinal who can go have on a pizza in peace, with no one disturbing him. As a tango lover, he would probably like to dance somewhere in a club, but the duties of a pope take precedence. And so at least he released a rock album, which he addresses to believers.

In his youth he fell in love and worked as a bouncer

Before Pope Francis became a spiritual representative of the church, he lived the ordinary life of a young Argentinian boy. And just like his peers, he needed to make money. In 2013, he revealed to the public that during his student days he worked as a bouncer in one of the bars in Buenos Aires and for some time he also worked as a cleaner, writes Sky News.

In addition, he also worked as a laboratory technician. Unfortunately, he did not comment on the above-mentioned jobs. However, he talked more about his later work as a teacher of literature and psychology. It allegedly "taught him how to bring people back to the church."

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Before changing these professions, at the age of 12 he fell in love with a girl named Amalia. He allegedly said that "if he cannot marry her, he will become a priest," writes The Guardian, in reference to the Telegraph.

He did not want to become the Pope

It is natural for many people to long for career growth. However, even in the ordinary work sphere, there are employees who do not want to become leaders. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now known as Pope Francis, was probably one of them. He confided to his sister Maria Elena Bergogli that he was not interested in the position of pope.

"He didn't want to be a pope, and when we talked about it privately and joked about the possibility, he said, 'No, please, no,'" RSVP Live quoted Maria Elena, referring to the Daily Telegraph. However, from the expression on his face on television, she thinks he is happy.

The position of the pope must be very challenging for the individual. The Guardian states that, according to Pope Francis, only a masochist would desire such a place. "Everyone who wants to be a pope doesn't care much about themselves," he answered a question from a Jesuit school student. "Lots of responsibilities, loss of privacy ... It's simply not "fun"".

He also explained to the schoolchildren that he did not want to live in the magnificent papal residence because he would not be well off if he isolated himself from the people. Man is often referred to as a social creature, and Pope Francis is no exception.

Fan of J. R. R. Tolkien

Enthusiasts of the Middle-earth are well aware that the famous writer John Ronald Reuel Tolkien professed Christian values, which he also inserted into his work. His stories were used in a 2008 sermon delivered by Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

Theonering.net website (a very popular fan site among readers and viewers of The Lord of the Rings) with a link to the Tolkienbrasil portal informed that the Holy Father is one of J. R. R. Tolkien's fans.

Pope Francis is said to have read the works of his beloved writer and highly recommends them to everyone. In a 2008 sermon, he spoke of life as a "continuous pilgrimage of hope," which he likened to the biblical figures of Abraham, the Israelites, and the heroes of the Lord of the Rings - Frodo and Bilbo.

Jesus Christ carried on his shoulders a cross and Frodo carried a ring of power, and both of them sacrificed for the greater good. There is definitely some similarity.

He fights against sexual abuse in the church

At the beginning of 2019, a Vatican summit was held on account of sex scandals, which are among the most significant problems of the Roman Catholic Church - not only because sexual abuse by priests occurs at all, but especially because church officials have often concealed similar incidents.

Pope Francis thinks that clergy who abuse children are "Satan's tool." After the summit, he promised that the church would punish the perpetrators. In May of the same year, he issued a decree Vos estis lux mundi (You are the light of the world), according to which monks and priests must report sexual abuse by clergy, but also its cover-ups.

The decree covered not only the abuse of children but also of adults, Euronews writes. According to the decree, moreover, each diocese is obliged to introduce a system through which the perpetrators can be reported in a simple way.

"In order to prevent such phenomena from recurring in all their forms, a constant and profound conversion of hearts, confirmed by concrete and effective action involving all in the Church, is necessary so that personal holiness and moral endeavor can work together to promote the full credibility of the Gospel proclamation and effectiveness of the mission of the Church, " he wrote in the decree.

He released his own rock album, but loves classical music and tango

Rock music and the pope. Can't this word combination work together? If you think it can, listen to the album Wake Up!, on which you hear the voice of the Holy Father. However, don't get too excited about hearing him sing or play the guitar or drums. The music album presents only the pope's words dedicated to believers during the service of masses and intercessions in combination with rock or pop music.

Pope Francis also made it to the front page of the famous rock magazine Rolling Stones - and that absolutely means something. However, the Holy Father is not a tough rocker. In fact, he is particularly fond of classical music (especially Mozart, Bach and Beethoven), writes The Guardian, and out of the musical styles he loves tango. "I love it. It's something that comes from the depths of me," he said.

Believers therefore paid tribute to him on his 78th birthday in 2014 by a mass tango in St. Peter's Square. According to the BBC, about 13,000 people attended the event. On this occasion, they also brought him a big birthday cake.

He doesn't watch TV, guards tell him the results of football matches

In short, television is "not for me", says Pope Francis. In July 1990, he promised the Virgin Mary that he would stop watching television, and since then he has allegedly never turned it on again. So journalists would only vainly ask him about his favorite series from Netflix or HBO.

In addition, he does not surf the internet and reads newspapers only 10 minutes a day, writes the Independent, referring to La Voz del Pueblo. Information from the world is conveyed to him by his surroundings. Pope Francis is also a big fan of the San Lorenzo football team. So if he wants to know how his team is doing, he simply asks the members of the Swiss Guard.

Although the Pope avoids the Internet, he called the tool a "gift from God," arguing that it makes it easier for people of all faiths to connect. Although he is also aware of its disadvantages, he thinks that there are more benefits. However, modern technologies are generally not his strong point. According to The Local, he is said to not even own a phone.

He supports the LGBT + community, but ...

The new pope, unlike his predecessor, is also very popular among people who do not like the conservative values. In 2019, for example, he defended oppressed homosexuals in his speech.

"I admit that when I sometimes hear the government's remarks, it reminds me of Adolf Hitler's speeches from 1934 to 1936. These are typical manifestations of Nazism, when Jews, Roma or homosexuals are persecuted, and it is a perfect model of a culture of exclusion and hatred. That was happening then and now it is happening again," he said according to Newsweek.

However, the acceptance of homosexuals by the pope is not 100%. In a documentary by director Yevgeny Afinayevsky, he said that it was in favor of homosexuals having the opportunity to form a registered partnership. However, he said, the marriage should remain between a man and a woman only, the BBC said. He called people who are fighting to change the definition of marriage a "threat to the family," according to the Independent.

According to the Vatican decree approved by Pope Francis, a priest cannot bless homosexual partnerships. As a reason, the church states that God "cannot bless sin," informs CNN. The pope therefore welcomes homosexuals in the church, criticises their removal from society, but is not at all aligned with their eventual marriage.

He loves pizza and does not object to drinking wine at celebrations

If you like a glass of tasty wine with a good pizza, you would one with Pope Francis. The Pope knows very well that Jesus has already turned water into wine - and he considers this type of alcohol to be a necessary part of any wedding feast. "A wedding reception without wine is a disgrace to newlyweds," he told the Catholic News Agency.

However, the Holy Father regrets that he can no longer enjoy these small joys of life as he did at a time when he did not yet hold the highest office of the Roman Catholic Church. According to ABC 7 News, he misses not being able to go and have his favourite food in a pizzeria without someone recognising him.

When the co-owner of a pizzeria in Naples learned of this, he decided to take the Italian specialty to the pope directly to his papamobile (vehicle intended for the transport of the pope - editor's note). The Pope was very pleased with this initiative and thanked the co-owner of the pizzeria. In another interview, however, he said that take-away service is not the same as if he could visit a restaurant in person, where he would eat without being seen.

He sees Muslims as brothers of Christians

Pope Francis is also known for his cordiality to other denominations, which he showed during Green Thursday in 2016. At that time, the Holy Father visited a refugee camp near Rome and washed and kissed the feet of migrants professing different faiths.

He said at the time, that it does not matter whether a person is a Muslim, a Hindu, a Catholic or a Lutheran, because "we are all children of one God." With this statement, he called Muslims and other believers brothers and sisters of Christians. Some of the migrants the Pope kissed his feet were so moved that tears welled up in their eyes.

By washing their feet, Pope Francis imitated the Jesus Christ - according to the Bible, Jesus washed his apostle's feet. Previous popes performed this ritual in the church and washed the feet of priests. However, the current head of the Roman Catholic Church regularly chooses marginalized groups. In addition to refugees, the pope has in the past washed the feet of prisoners and the disabled. On Green Thursday in 2016, he pointed out that priests are "often blind" to the suffering of marginalised groups.