Bouncer at nightclub, teaching: Before Vatican called, Pope Francis took on myriad jobs

As the world mourns him, we take a look at the time when the Pope revealed that he used to work in nightclubs as a bouncer.

The Vatican announced that Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, who shook up the Catholic Church, had died after he battled a bout of double pneumonia that had hospitalized him for weeks before he was discharged on March 23.

As the world mourns his death, we take a look at the time when the Pope revealed that he used to work in nightclubs as a bouncer.

According to Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis, during a visit to a church in a working class suburb of Rome on December 1, 2013, spoke about his life working the doors at a venue in Buenos Aires.

He also talked about his experiences sweeping floors and working in a laboratory as a teenager, and later, teaching at a high school.

However, the Pope did not share details about his time on those jobs. Instead, he focused on how his later work - teaching literature and psychology - "taught him how to get people back into the church", L'Osservatore Romano reported.

Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires. His parents were immigrants from Italy, and he was the eldest of five siblings. As a boy, he was intelligent, deeply religious and loved to dance the tango.

It was at the age of 16, when Jorge was rushing to meet friends but paused at the Basilica of St Joseph in Buenos Aires, feeling an urge to go inside. In the sanctuary, it felt as if “someone grabbed me from inside,” he said, adding, “Right there I knew I had to be a priest.” He later joined a seminary.

After 13 years of study, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was ordained as a priest.

Francis was elected pontiff after Pope Benedict XVI resigned, citing health concerns. Francis tried to move the church away from divisive issues such as abortion and homosexuality, instead focusing on climate change, poverty and migration.

(NYT inputs)