Pope's Odd Jobs as Young Man: Bar Bouncer, for One

Pope Francis says among the several odd jobs he held as a young man was working as a nightclub bouncer.

The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported the Pope told a group of parishioners at the church of San Cirillo Alessandrino about his earlier jobs, which also included sweeping floors and as an assistant in a chemical laboratory, according to Catholic News Service.

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The Pope told one group of parishioners that although he used to kick troublemakers out of nightclubs, he later learned how to woo people back to the church, crediting years of teaching literature and psychology, the report noted.

Pope Francis' job as a bouncer was first reported in March by the Italian paper Gazzetta del Sud and the British newspaper The Telegraph, which wrote that he worked in a bar in Buenos Aires while he was a student.

In his latest revelations, the Pope also told parishioners he discovered his vocation to the priesthood after confession with a priest he had never met before — and then joked the best confessors are priests the penitent doesn't know, and priests who are deaf.

And he confessed that he never dreamed he'd become Pope — and was just a little nervous celebrating his first Mass after being elected pontiff.

"Was I anxious? A little, yes, but everyone was nice," he said, according to the newspaper. "But it's true, having a lot of people in front of you is a bit scary."

Now, he added, "Thank God I feel really good. The Lord helped me be a priest, to be a bishop, and now to be the Pope."

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