A Visit from A Pope-ular Pope

In this image from  Agência Brasil, the pope show his warmth and approachability.

Among Catholics or non-Catholics alike, Pope Francis is one of the most popular popes, and he’s recently paid a visit to America. Pope Francis stepped on U.S. soil for the first time on September 22nd, and has been making his rounds through Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia. Other than touring the churches throughout those states, he’s visited the 9/11 Memorial, the White House, the Independence Mall, Central Park, and Madison Square Garden.

 So, in light of his trip to the red, white and blue, and for those who don’t know much about him, here’s some Pope Francis Facts:

• Pope Francis was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
• He is the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church.
• Before he was pope he worked for a short time as a chemical technologist and a nightclub bouncer.
• He became an ordained Catholic priest in 1969, and moved his way up to cardinal in 2001, and finally in 2013 became Pope Benedict XVI’s successor.
• Pope Francis chose his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi (who is the patron of animals, merchants and ecology). He is the simplest of the Saints.
• He is the first pope in many areas such as: the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first non-European pope since the Syrian Gregory III in 714.
• Pope Francis is a multilingual, speaking Spanish, Latin and Italian, and he understands German, French, Portuguese, English and Ukrainian.
• He had part of his right lung removed because of an infection he had when he was younger. No worries, though, he’s still going strong at the age of 78.
• The Pope is from Argentina, and has mentioned he is a huge fan of the tango.

Pope Francis gets all his cool points from being a different kind of pope. He emphasizes God’s mercy, has immense concern for the poor, and he’s known for being extremely humble. Examples of his humility include how he chooses to ride in economy on airplanes, lives in an apartment and takes the bus.  He has some other modern beliefs including: babies who are born with unmarried parents still have the right to be baptized and that women in the Roman Catholic Church are super important. He’s even addressed the issue with priests and sexual abuse, and is seeking to remove those from the church who are guilty. He may still agree with most religious figures that homosexuality is a sin, but he’s stated that they should still be treated with love and respect like any other person.

Pope Francis seems like a pretty chill guy for being Sovereign of the Vatican City. Overall he’s considered to be a breath of fresh air when compared to past unpopular popes (not to name any names, but we’re looking at you Pope Benedict XVI). With all the tension there is about religion, a nice semi open-minded pope is nothing to complain about.

Speaking for America, I hope Pope Francis had a safe trip back to Rome, and hope to see him pope by again.