revealed by two of his fellow gang members in
1950s Argentina.
His high school mates Oscar Crespo and Alberto
D'Arezzo, who were also in The Ten Lads, told how
the then Jorge Mario Bergoglio went to wild parties,
had an eyes for the ladies – and dressed up in
women's clothes.
The pair – like him, now 78 – say the future Pope
loved to dance too.
Oscar, who met Jorge in the Vatican recently, said:
"We were all regular teenagers who wanted girls
and fun and, although Jorge was quieter and more
reserved, he wasn't any different.
"If a girl passed and he thought she was pretty,
he'd say so. He'd stare at a girl with great t**s with
the rest of us. Although, unlike us, he wouldn't say a
thing."
Oscar and Alberto said it was clear from an early
age that Jorge wanted to be a priest – but it didn't
stop him enjoying his youth in Buenos Aires.
They also told how 17-year-old Jorge fell in love
with a beauty called Tonecha, who caught his eye at
a dance.
Oscar said: "She had olive skin and brown hair, very
pretty. He never stopped talking about her. He
chatted her up and, on their first date, went to the
cinema.
"They went on a couple of other dates and then it
fizzled out. I'm sure he kissed other girls but
Tonecha was the one who drove him crazy."
At weekends, Jorge went to wild parties at Oscar's
home.
He said: "Our parties were unforgettable. One night,
we raided my sister's wardrobe and dressed up in
women's clothes.
"I put on a cloak to be Zorro, and Alberto and Jorge
dressed up as women. We had no make-up so they
painted their face with burned cork."
On Sundays, they went to dance jazz and tango in a
club "full of pretty girls".
Alberto says Jorge never lost his eye for women.
He said when Jorge was an archbishop, he joined
him for a meeting with a government official, adding:
"He couldn't stop looking at her cleavage. Later, I
mentioned it and he laughed."
Oscar and Alberto are still amazed their best pal
has become Pope. Alberto said: "Jorge is a man of
God who is as human as any of us."
