« If I have not you, I will devote myself to God, » a promise that became a prophecy

By Albert Vataj

Beyond the greatness of a religious figure, beyond his words that embrace the world with mercy and love, stands a small, intimate, touching story, a teenage love that never took earthly form but probably opened a divine gate. The story of Amalia Damtes, the girl from the Flores neighborhood in Buenos Aires, is an unusual confession of starting a road that would lead to the papal throne.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the guy who would become Pope Francis, was only 12 or 13 when he fell in love with Amalian. They lived close to each other, exchanging quiet views and cordial conversations. She remembers her with emotion:

« He was calm, serious, always with a book in his hand … but there was something in her eyes to believe every word he said. »
When their love began to deepen, Jorge, in an act that today seems like an foretold blessing, wrote to Amalia a letter saying:
« If I can’t marry you, I’ll be a priest. »

A felt sentence, cut like a knife, like a path that is divided into two roads. And so it happened.

Amalia’s family, seeing the connection that was born, decided to stop it. The feeling was interrupted, but not without a trace. Jorge Mario, instead of opposing, accepted it as a sign. Only a few months later, he would enter the Jesuit seminar and launch a spiritual journey that would lead to the Vatican to history.

A division that never became repentance

Amalia, who today is an elderly woman, has always shown this chapter of her life with dignity and bitterness. « It was not a pain, it was probably a gift, » she said in an interview. She never marries Jorge, but his memory stands fresh, like a spring that was not fully tasted, but who left her scent all her life.

Pope Francis, for his part, though he has rarely stopped in personal memoirs, has once spoken of « a girl he liked » during his youth, without mentioning a name. But those who know history know: it was Amalia.

The love you led toward dedication

This small chapter, almost negligible for official biographers, is actually a window towards the deep human nature of Pope Francis. He did not come from heaven, but from the earth, from the way, from feelings. From a heart he loved, dreamed, he chose not to hold for himself, but to give the world the only love he did not live.
Isn’t this the very essence of sacrifice?

The story of Amalia and Jorge is a silent but inspiring story. It is the memory that even within the sacred figures there have been human feelings. And maybe it is exactly what makes Francis so close, so loving, he has not forgotten that he was once a guy he loved.