Pope Francis Cooks A Mean Paella, Other Revelations In New Book

Pope Francis can cook a mean paella, a Spanish rice dish that is very popular all over the world, reveals a new book on the Argentinian Pontiff.

The new Pope has taken the world by storm, ever since coming to the chair of St. Peter in a most unusual manner.

After his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI resigned, something that has not happened in the Catholic Church since Medieval Times, Francis has become one of the most popular public figures in the world.

His friendly personality, coupled with a true understanding of the most critical problems facing the Church in the 21st century, have put Pope Francis and the Catholic Church front and center.

A new book, by Argentinian journalist Elisabetta Piqué, makes several interesting claims about the Jesuit Pope, the first to come from the Americas.

Apparently Pope Francis is handy in the kitchen and can make a mean paella, the Spanish dish made of rice, chicken, and seafood.

“He always cooked fantastic paella for us,” Angel Rossi, a Jesuit priest, told Piqué for her book, Francis: Life and Revolution, which will be published this week.

According to the newest revelations about Pope Francis he gets up at 4:15 am every day, showers and shaves. Then he enjoys some maté, a caffeine beverage, traditional in his native Argentina.

Francis loves to cook and is used to making meals for himself. He learned while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Piqué also claims Pope Francis has taught the chefs at his residence, Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where he elected to live, as opposed to the more lavish Papal apartments, how to make his favorite dessert, “dulce de leche” a caramel pudding.

Elisabetta Piqué’s book is based on interviews she did of the new Pope, whom she has known since 2001, in which she reveals other more intimate details about the fascinating life of Jorge Mario Bergolgio, his real name.

His nephew recalls how he quieted him when he was crying as a child, “My parents told me that when I cried he dipped my dummy in wine or whisky to calm me.”

Oscar Crespo, said that he and Pope Francis would go out dancing tango (the popular and sensual Argentinian dance) when they were teens in the hope of meeting girls.

“We used to go dancing at the clubs in the Chacarita district (of Buenos Aires) because there were a lot of girls,” he said. “Jorge was going out with one of them”.

But the relationship didn’t last past his mid-teens, when now Pope Francis decided he wanted to become a priest.

Pope Francis has become a beloved leader by Catholics and admired by non-Catholics, for the modesty in which he lives his life and his matter-of-fact approach to complicated theological topics.

What do you think of the new revelations about Pope Francis?