FAST FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GLOBAL RELIGIOUS LEADER, POPE FRANCIS ....WHO WAS ONCE A NIGHT CLUB BOUNCER 

Special Report Compiled By: Olufemi Orunsola

As the world mourns the passing to glory of the Catholic Pontiff and global religious leader, Pope Francis, whose death occurred on Easter Monday morning, Olufemi Orunsola of OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News, has thought it prudent to serve you these fast facts about the departed Pope, who  was the 266th Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, profiling some of the many firsts, Pope Francis had to his credit throughout his more than a decade Pontificate. 

 *His Birth/Humble Beginning:* *Full Names, Jorge Francis Bergoglio* 

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, to immigrant parents who fled Italy’s fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini.

 *Early Career:* *Once a Nightclub Bouncer* 

He trained as a chemical technician, worked in the food processing industry, and, for a brief time, was a bouncer in a nightclub in Cordoba before becoming a priest in 1969.

His upbringing in Buenos Aires exposed him to religious pluralism and socioeconomic inequalities – two factors that experts believe explain his commitment to interfaith dialogue and pointed criticism of capitalism and consumerism.

*His father, Mario José Bergoglio, was an Italian immigrant who fled fascist Italy in 1929, and his mother, Regina María Sívori, was born in Argentina to Italian parents.

 *First Jesuits Pope in the World:* 

At just 36 years of age, he became the head of Argentina’s Jesuits, a Roman Catholic order of priests.

In 1998, he became the archbishop of Buenos Aires, where he would become an outspoken critic of social injustice and economic inequality.

 *First Latin American & Non-European Pope in Over 1000 Years Records*

After a tight race for the 2013 conclave, Francis, who had already been a runner-up in the previous papal conclave in 2005, was elected Pope of the Catholic Church. By his emergence, the Church, chose its first non-European pontiff in 1,282 years. Records have it that the last non-European Pope was Gregory III, who was elected in 731 from Syria – and also its first leader since then from the Global South, which today is home to the majority of Christians worldwide.

**He was the First Pope in the History of the Church to Select His Own Name* 

When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the 266th pope on March 13, 2013, he chose the name 'Francis,' marking the first time a pope had selected this name

 **Earned Global Reputation As The Pope of the Poor/Pope of the Slum* 

According to Jack Valero, the founder of Catholic Voices, "Pope Francis’s main message was that “God is close to you”. Multiple media sources around the world, including opinion leaders from within and outside the church, have affirmed that the late Pope Francis was indeed the Pope of the Poor based on his revolutionary proximity to the poor in their slums and his unapologetic stand with the lowly and the vulnerable people. 

 *He was a Revolutionary Pope* 

Although he actually subscribed to All Doctrines/Dogmas of the Church Yet Laid a New Significant Emphasis on the fact of God's love for all regardless of their estates, class, creed, or breed.

 **A Towering Figure in Global Politics: Expressed Sympathy and Empathy from the Office of the Pope to Sufferings of Civilians in Ukraine, Gaza.*

Although the office of the Pope has always been influential on global affairs, Pope Francis was a little different in his expressions of sympathy and empathy for the suffering civilians in war thorn zones in Ukraine and Gaza in particular.

He repeatedly expressed support for Ukrainians, emphasising the need to address the suffering of civilian people.

On multiple occasions, he was sughted blessing Ukrainian soldiers, called for peace, and in 2022, he actually sent cardinals to Ukraine with humanitarian aid.

All of this was certainly appreciated, but there were moments when his attempts to play the mediator did not go over so well. He was criticised by Ukrainians for not describing it as Russia’s war, instead describing it as a conflict in Ukraine.

 *Dubbed as a Charismatic Communicator with a Friendly Demeanour* 

Pope Francis succeeded in broadening Catholicism’s appeal at a time of growing disenchantment towards the Church, an institution embroiled in financial and sexual scandals.

 *Left a Legacy of Stripping the Papacy of Some Degree of Opacity* 

Throughout his papacy from 2013 to 2025, the pope stripped the Vatican of some layers of opacity and connected with the concerns of common people. 

 Records have it that he highlighted the plight of the poor and that of prisoners. Francis condemned the Church’s abuse of power.

 *Pope Francis Sufferred Prolonged Ilness After Life-threatening Double Hospitalisation for Pneumonia - the second-longest in Recent Papal History.* 

He had returned to the Vatican less than a month ago after a five-week hospitalisation for life-threatening double pneumonia. It was the longest hospitalisation of his 12-year papacy and the second-longest in recent papal history.

 *Pope Francis Canonised Close to One Thousand Saints During His Pontificate* 

During his pontificate between 2013 and 2005, Pope Francis canonized close to a thousand saints, which includes the 813 Martyrs of Otranto as a group, 23 who were equipollently canonized and 4 who were canonized in other countries.

In all, records have it that he canonized 942 saints, including his predecessors John XXIII, John Paul II and Paul VI as well as Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated in 1980. (Source: Wikipedia)