Childhood love of Pope Francis I claims she turned down his marriage proposal...so he became a priest

 

The childhood sweetheart of the first Latin American Pope, Amalia Damonte, 76, who grew up in the same Flores neighbourhood of Buenos Aires as Bergoglio said she was shocked when he became Pope...according to her:

'I froze in front of the television. I couldn’t believe that Jorge was the Pope!' 

'We were 12, 13 years old. No more than that,' she said. 'He was wonderful. He was a proper guy.'

'There was only one letter and it cost me a smack in the face from my father,' 

'It said we were going to get married and I am going to buy you a white house. So the two of us could live together.'

'He said that if I didn’t say yes, he would have to become a priest. Luckily for him, I said no!'

'He had a crush on me, you know. We used to play on the streets here. It was a quiet neighbourhood then, and, well, he was very nice.' said his old girlfriend, now a white-hair pensioner with spectacles.Damonte, who stills lives four doors up from Bergoglio's childhood home.