When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was 12, he developed a crush on a girl called Amalia. Both sets of parents disapproved of their children forming an attachment so young but Jorge went ahead and proposed marriage anyway, according to Amalia.
She recalled with a laugh: ‘He said that if I didn’t say yes, he would have to become a priest. Fortunately for him I said no.’
It must count as one of the most momentous rejections in history, as Bergoglio not only went on to be ordained but rose to become head of the Roman Catholic church.
Pope Francis, who has di3d aged 88, was the first non-European to be elected to his office in 13 centuries.
A Jesuit from Argentina, Francis was also the most liberal, the most political and the most controversial of modern popes.
His informality, simplicity and charm won him many admirers, but his murky past under the Argentinian dictatorship may also explain why he was slow to deal with numerous scandals that emerged during his pontificate.