Quick Facts on new Pope Francis

Pope has one lung, rode bus to work

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Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Posted: 03/13/2013
Last Updated: 69 days ago

VATICAN CITY - The new pope is making history from his name to his home in Argentina.

Below are some quick facts, both interesting and informative, regarding the new Pope's personality and morals.

  • Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of five children born to an Italian railway worker and his mother was a housewife
  • He speaks Spanish, Italian and German.
  • He reportedly had a lung removed when he was a teenager due to an infection.
  • He rides a bus to work
  • He wears an ordinary priest's robe
  • He lives with an older priest in a simple apartment and h e cooks his own meals, rather than live at the luxurious residence he was entitled to as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
  • He has written books on spirituality and meditation and has been outspoken against abortion and same-sex marriages, according to the Catholic News Service.
  • He is the first Jesuit to be named a pope. He entered the Society of Jesus and was ordained in 1969 during his theological studies at the Theological Faculty of San Miguel.
  • He has chosen the name Francis — the first time in papal history that name has been used.
  • He is the first pope from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than 1,000 years.
  • Even though he has no Vatican experience, he becomes the 266th pontiff in the Roman Catholic Church's 2,000-year history.
  • He was the second choice of the conclave that elected Joseph Ratzinger , known as Benedict XVI, as pope eight years ago.
  • Coming from a soccer-mad Argentina, Pope Francis is a fan of San Lorenzo.
  • In an email chain, it claimed he "never smiles."

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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