A Childhood Romance That Shaped History
Prior to being Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a humble youth in Buenos Aires with a romantic love for his next-door girl, Amalia Damonte. At the age of 12, he left her a love letter in a sketch of a red-tile roofed home and an unwavering message: if she wouldn’t marry him, he would enter the priesthood. She refused. And that choice, as she has said laughingly later on, may have altered the trajectory of his life.
Love Lost, Faith Found
Amalia, today 76 years old, remembers how their naive courtship was brought to an end when her mother stepped in. The families fell apart and the boy who fantasized marriage took a path of the cloth instead. Bergoglio became a chemistry major, entered the Society of Jesus, and was ordained in 1969. His ascent up the Church ranks was gradual becoming Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and a cardinal three years later.
A Papacy of Purpose
In 2013, following Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, Bergoglio was elected the 266th Pope the first from Latin America. He took the name Francis, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi. Known for humility and social advocacy, he declined papal luxuries, championed the poor, and addressed global issues like climate change and inequality.
A Final Message of Peace
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88, a day after giving his last blessing. During his last Easter message, he called for world peace, religious liberty, and disarmament. His life, which was formed by being rejected as a child and rooted in empathy, had a lasting impact on the Catholic Church.
