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Pope Francis early life

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, entered the world on December 17, 1936, in the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the eldest of five children to Italian immigrant parents, Mario José Bergoglio and Regina María Sívori^[1][2]. His father, an accountant who worked for the railways, hailed from Piedmont, Italy, while his mother, a housewife, was born in Buenos Aires to a family of northern Italian descent^[1][2][3]. The Bergoglio family had left Italy in 1929 to escape the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, though not for economic reasons, according to Francis's only living sibling, María Elena Bergoglio^[1].

Growing up in a working-class environment, Bergoglio's childhood was shaped by a modest lifestyle and strong family values, including discipline and a respect for avoiding waste, as instilled by his parents^[4]. He was fluent in both Italian and Spanish, reflecting his dual cultural heritage^[4]. As a youth, he displayed a natural inclination for learning, with interests spanning philosophy, psychology, and the natural sciences, and a life philosophy centered on moderation^[4]. Beyond academics, he was also passionate about tango dancing and had diverse early work experiences, including stints as a bouncer, janitor, and laboratory technician in the food section of Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory^[1][4].

Bergoglio attended Wilfrid Barón de los Santos Ángeles, a Salesian school in Ramos Mejía, Buenos Aires Province, for sixth grade, and later graduated from Escuela Técnica Industrial Nº 27 Hipólito Yrigoyen with a chemical technician’s diploma^[1][3]. At the age of 21, he faced a life-threatening bout of pneumonia, which resulted in the partial removal of one lung, though this did not impact his long-term health^[3][5]. This health crisis, coupled with a profound spiritual experience while passing by a church for confession, inspired him to pursue a religious vocation^[1][6].

In 1958, at the age of 21, Bergoglio entered the Society of Jesus as a novice, joining the archdiocesan seminary, Inmaculada Concepción Seminary, in Villa Devoto, Buenos Aires^[1][2]. He studied humanities in Santiago, Chile, and officially became a Jesuit on March 12, 1960, taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience^[1]. He earned a licentiate in philosophy from Colegio Máximo de San José in 1960 and later taught literature and psychology at high schools in Santa Fe and Buenos Aires between 1964 and 1966^[1][2]. From 1967 to 1970, he studied theology at Colegio de San José, completing his degree and laying the foundation for his future ecclesiastical career^[2][5]. These formative years of education, diverse experiences, and spiritual awakening shaped the man who would later become the first Latin American pope.

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis         
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis     
• http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/biography/documents/papa-francesco-biografia-bergoglio.html   
• https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/world/europe/pope-francis-life-timeline.html    
• http://bemydisciples.com/news/biography-pope-francis  
• https://www.biography.com/religious-figures/pope-francis