Pope Francis was once a nightclub bouncer
Here's a line you probably thought you'd never read: Pope Francis, the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church, used to work as a bouncer.
Advertisement
During a trip to a Rome-area church on Sunday, he revealed that he had once worked as a bouncer at a Buenos Aires nightclub before turning his attention to the church. That’s in addition to his time as a janitor and laboratory assistant.
This biographical titbit has made the rounds before, but it was the first time the pope had mentioned his past employment since taking over for the retiring Pope Benedict in March 2013.
Of course, this is far from the first time Pope Francis surprised the world with his approach to the papacy.
Prior to the bouncer revelations, the pope made waves in November when he addressed the topic of same-sex marriage saying “who am I to judge a gay person?” in response to a question posed by reporters. Francis later said he believes the church has become “obsessed” with the issues of abortion and gay marriage, called global capitalism “a new tyranny,” and even reached out to atheists.
Possible moonlighting?
This isn't even the only Pope Francis bombshell to make news this week.
It is a well-known fact that, while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, the now-pope would venture out after hours to minister to the city’s poor.
While that practice is now notably more difficult given his position, according to comments made recently by a Vatican official, he may in fact still be leaving the papal apartments for the occasional nighttime adventure, dressed as a common priest in an effort to hide his identity. The Vatican has yet to comfirm these reports.
Other Trending Stories
However, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, a key lieutenant who is in charge of distributing aid from the Vatican to the city’s poor, hinted at the speculation recently, saying: “When I say to him ‘I’m going out into the city this evening,’ there’s the constant risk that he will come with me.”