The young and handsome Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis)
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He became the 266th. pope of the Roman Catholic Church on 13 March 2013. He is the first Jesuit pope, the first from South America, and the first from the Western Hemisphere. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier. The son of an accountant whose family had emigrated from north -western Italy's Piedmont region, Bergoglio had distinguished himself at the age of 20 when he entered the seminary in 1957. In 1958, he chose the intellectually challenging and socially rigorous Society of Jesus as his path to priesthood. He taught unruly boys, washed the feet of prisoners, and studied overseas. In 1964, his superiors assigned him to be a maestrillo (teaching student-priest) at the Institute of Immaculate Conception in Santa Fe, Argentina. During his two-year tenure at Santa Fe, Bergoglio exhibited two characteristics - strictness and leniency. "What distinguished him was that he was dedicated to getting the full potential of every individual. He was demanding - but at the same time, he accompanied you throughout that process," says a former student, Jose Luis Lorenzatti. Twenty years later, as a professor of theology and philosophy at his alma mater, Colegio Maximo, Bergoglio exhibited the same traits. According to a former student, Ramiro de la Serna, "As a professor, he was very porteno, using jokes with double meanings, very picaresque. But at the same time, he was very strict, very demanding. He was close to the students, but he wasn't going to give us any extra points for that closeness." Bergoglio was ordained a priest in 1969 and was the provincial superior of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Argentina from 1973 to 1979. In 1998, he became the archbishop of Buenos Aires and was made a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.
These 20 inspirational quotes from Pope Francis will surely change your way of thinking and help you to live a more meaningful life.
- Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.
- The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.
- Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey.
- Having faith does not mean having no difficulties, but having the strength to face them, knowing we are not alone.
- If we start without confidence, we have already lost half the battle and we bury our talents.
- Miracles happen. But prayer is needed! Prayer that is courageous, struggling and persevering, not prayer that is a mere formality.
- Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow.
- The family is where we are formed as people. Every family is a brick in the building of society.
- Take care of your family life, giving your children and loved ones not just money, but most of all your time, attention and love.
- Abortion isn't a lesser evil, it's a crime. Taking one life to save another, that's what the Mafia does. It's a crime. It's an absolute evil.
- Truth, according to the Christian faith, is God's love for us in Jesus Christ. Therefore, truth is a relationship.
- Let us never lose hope! God loves us always, even with our mistakes and sins.
- To be saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone.
- If we wish to follow Christ closely, we cannot choose and easy, quiet life. It will be a demanding life, but full of joy.
- From my point of view, God is the light that illuminates the darkness, even if it does not dissolve it, and a spark of divine light is within each of us.
- Holiness doesn't mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith.
- We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.
- Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that creates huge inequalities.
- My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off; it is not an "extra" or just another moment in life. Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world.
- This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that came closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good.
References:
1. Pope Francis and the New Vatican. Washington, DC: National Geographic.
Pope Francis and the New Vatican is a breathtaking book of photography which reveals the Vatican in the time of the "People's Pope", with extraordinary images and illuminating reporting from inside the city walls and beyond.
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