In 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Now known as Pope Francis, he is known for his humility and simple lifestyle which earned him the moniker, “the people’s Pope”.
Know more about Pope Francis one alphabet at a time.
A is attentiveness. The Pope is all ears to the people’s needs.
B is for bus. The Pope is known to ride the public transport in Argentina.
C is for confiding in parents. The Pope is very close to his family but finds it easiest to talk to his father.
D is for devil. The Pope believes that the devil exists and he is the “father of all that is bad.”
E is for emotions. The Pope tends to ‘’freeze” whenever overwhelmed by strong emotions.
F is for football. The Pope has a tremendous passion for football.
G is for grandmother. According to the Pope, his grandmother is the most important person in his life.
H is for humility. The Pope has learnt that humility is the path towards God.
I is for Italian. The Pope is 100% Argentine but with Italian blood, he claims to be “the most Italian’’ in the family.
J is for Jesuit. When the Pope was young, he wanted to be a missionary. The patron of missionaries is Francis Xavier, a Jesuit.
K is for kisses. The Pope allows himself to be kissed and also throws kisses with his hand.
L is for laity. The Pope once said that the ‘’priests clericalize the laity and the laity asked to be clericalized.”
M is for Mary. The Pope has a great devotion to Mary and in the first place to Our Lady of Lujan, the Madonna of the Argentines.
N is for NGO (Non-Government Organization). The Pope refutes that the Church is an NGO since the value of the Church is preaching the Gospel and giving witness to the faith.
P is for patience. If there is one way to define the Pope, that would be “the Pope of Patience.’’
R is for rosary. The Pope has a great devotion to Our Lady and is known to “always, always’’ pray the rosary.
S is for School. As a boy, the Pope likes the subject literature, psychology and religion.
T is for tango. The Pope likes to dance tango and he did so for a long time as a young man.
U is for uncles. Or rather great-uncles, the brothers of his grandfather, who had immigrated to Argentina in 1922.
V is vocation. 21 September 1953 was the day the Pope finally heed the vocation of serving God.
W is for women. The Pope believes that Women welcome society, contain it, and transform it into community.
Y is for young people. When he was a parish priest, the Pope once set up a makeshift cinema for the young people of St. Joseph parish.
The alphabet of the Pope is just a quick glance of his life. The best way to know the Pope is follow his lead and preach kindness.
