Long before he donned the white robes of the papacy and became a global symbol of compassion and humility, Jorge Mario Bergoglio walked a very different path, one paved with grit, everyday toil, and a surprising love for football.
Born on December 17, 1936, in the working-class Flores neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio was the eldest of five children in an Italian immigrant family.
His early life was rooted in modesty and hard work.
After completing his education, he trained as a chemical technician and found employment in the food processing industry.
But his résumé was far from conventional for a future pope.
He swept floors, taught high school students, and even manned the doors of rowdy nightclubs as a bouncer, charged with calming drunken patrons, a role that required both strength and restraint.
These early jobs shaped his character and deepened his connection to the ordinary people he would one day lead.
What many overlook, however, is his enduring devotion to sport, particularly football.
In the tight-knit neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, a young Jorge chased balls down dusty streets, often slipping on the pitch but never losing his enthusiasm.
Though he once joked that he had “two left feet,” he played goalkeeper, a position he claimed taught him to stay alert for dangers that could come from any direction, a metaphor he carried into his spiritual life.
His heart belonged to San Lorenzo, a football club in Buenos Aires.
Weekend matches with his father and brothers became sacred rituals.
Even as he rose through the ranks of the Catholic Church, his loyalty to the club remained unwavering.
A Swiss Guard at the Vatican would discreetly slip match results and league standings onto his desk.
In the run-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Pope Francis offered prayers and goodwill to the footballing world, calling for unity, peace, and mutual respect through sport.
Curiously, he didn’t watch the final between Argentina and France, an act of personal discipline rooted in a vow he made decades ago to avoid television.
His love for the game even found its way into pop culture. In Netflix’s The Two Popes, a touching scene sees the fictionalised Bergoglio watching the 2014 World Cup final with Pope Benedict XVI, a symbolic blend of sport, friendship, and faith.