Pope Francis has revealed he saw a Jewish psychoanalyst when he was younger to help him ‘clarify a few things’.
It is the first time the pontiff had made an admission that he has sought mental therapy.
The revelation is laid bare in a new book called Pope Francis: Politics and Society.
Pope Francis has revealed he saw a Jewish psychoanalyst when he was younger to help him ‘clarify a few things’. He is pictured here during the weekly general audience in Vatican, Italy on December 7, 2016
At the time, he was head of the Jesuit order – a society of religious men – in Argentina and went under the name Jorge Mario Bergoglio
The intervention came when he was 42, decades before he was elected Pope.
It was in his native Argentina when he saw the psychoanalyst, and in the book, he said: ‘At a certain point, I felt the need to consult an analyst. For six months, I went to her house once a week to clarify a few things,’ according to the Telegraph.
At the time, he was head of the Jesuit order – a society of religious men – in Argentina and went under the name Jorge Mario Bergoglio
The revelation came in a dozen conversations Francis had with French sociologist Dominique Wolton, who is writing a soon-to-be-published book.
It was not specified what the future pontiff wanted to explore in the sessions, which took place when he was 42.
La Stampa, an Italian daily, quoting some of the conversations, said Francis went to the analyst’s home.
Francis was quoted as saying: ‘One day, when she was about to die, she called me. Not to receive the sacraments, since she was Jewish, but for a spiritual dialogue.’
He added: ‘She was a good person. For six months she helped me a lot.’
At the time, Francis was a Jesuit official in his native Argentina, which was ruled by a military dictatorship.