Pope Francis reveals he used to be a BOUNCER

One is the head of a church preaching inclusion, peace and kindness. The other is a stone-faced person who tells people they are 'not coming in'.

So it may come as a surprise to learn that before becoming the Pontiff, Pope Francis I was a nightclub bouncer.

The 76-year-old has been outed as a doorman who used to keep troublemakers out of a bar in Buenos Aires when he was a student.

Pope Francis spoke to people about his youth and vocation when he visited a working-class neighbourhood in Rome

Pope Francis has been praised for his common touch and inclusive attitude since his enthronment

He has embraced and blessed disfigured followers, allowed a child to clutch his side as addressed a crowd and repeatedly proved himself to be an accessible Pope with the common touch.

His inclusive approach is a far cry to the surly doormen who keep out partygoers from getting into bars.

Francis, the 266th pope, later taught literature and psychology, which he credits as teaching him how to get people back into the church, Catholic News reported.

The revelation into his past came as he informally chatted with parishioners when he visited a church in a working-class neighborhood in Rome.

Sitting with them, he spoke of how he realised his true vocation was serving the church after he confessed to a priest he had never met before.

Pope Francis waves to crowds as he arrives to his inauguration Mass in St. Peter's Square. Since his enthronement he has made headlines with his affectionate attitude

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented Pope Francis with a Menorah and a book on the Spanish Inquisition

The first Jesuit pope, who leads 1.3 billion Catholics, has lived a colourful life.



He is a fan of the passionate tango dance and had a girlfriend he danced with before he became a priest, Gazetta Del Sud reported.

It follows today's claims that Francis has been sneaking out of the Vatican at night to give money to the poor on the streets of Rome.



The speculation that the Pontiff has been visiting the poor under the cover of darkness comes after an interview with Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, whose role includes distributing money from the Holy See to the poor.



He said Pope Francis - who as archbishop of Buenos Aires went out at night to visit the needy - had often expressed a desire to accompany him on his nocturnal missions.

Although he refused to confirm or deny whether the pope has accompanied him, many will see a refusal to comment as admission that Francis is heading out on the streets to anonymously give alms.



Since being elected to the Holy See earlier this year, the pontiff has made headlines around the world by washing the feet of juvenile delinquents, personally calling distraught worshipers on the phone and inviting homeless people to dine at St Peter's Square.

Popular: Pope Francis waves as he conducts his weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican November 27, 2013

I WASN'T EXPECTING THE SPANISH INQUISITION! ISRAELI PM PRESENTS POPE WITH BOOK ABOUT CATHOLIC CHURCH'S EXPULSION OF JEWS Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave Pope Francis a book about the Spanish Inquisition written by his late father Ben-Zion, an expert on the Catholic Church's forced conversion and expulsion of Jews in the 15th century.

Netanyahu presented a Spanish translation of the 1995 book, 'The Origins of the Inquisition,' to Francis during their 25-minute private audience. He also gave the pope a large silver menorah.

The Inquisition was a Roman Catholic tribunal for discovery and punishment of heresy, and meant that Jewish people were excluded, harassed and tortured. Jews were subjected to violent attacks and isolated in ghettos.

Many Jews converted to Catholicism but were accused of secretly continuing to practice Judaism and became targets of the terrifying Inquisition.

'To his Holiness Pope Franciscus, a great shepherd of our common heritage,' the Israeli leader wrote on the inside front page of the book.

Francis thanked him and presented Netanyahu with a small bronze plaque of St. Paul.

A Vatican statement said discussions between the Israeli and Vatican delegations focused on restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and Francis' upcoming pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

While no dates have been set, the trip is expected sometime in May and is also expected to include a stop in Jordan.

After years of negative press, the Catholic Church is basking in the 'Francis Effect' which has been credited with a 20 per cent rise in congregations in Britain, and similar boosts around the world.

Following his enthronement Francis has repeatedly called for ‘a poor church’.

He immediately abandoned the traditional scarlet slippers and golden cross for a plain iron cross and his battered old black brogues from Buenos Aires.



And he has continued to live by example eschewing the grand Papal apartments for a room in a humble priest’s boarding house, travelling in a Ford Focus, and suspending a bishop who spent millions of euros on his luxurious residence.



He even chose the name Francis after the medieval saint who renounced his riches for a life of poverty.

