Before he became Pope Francis, he was Jorge Bergoglio, the son of an Italian railway worker living in what is now a comfortable Buenos Aires neighborhood.

Amalia, who also lived in the same area, says she had a close relationship with the new pontiff when they were children.

"He sent me a letter telling me that he was going to build me a house, that we would get married. And, unfortunately, my mother took the letter. I was looking all over for it and she said, 'So you're receiving letters from him."

But even then, she says, the priesthood was in his sights. 

Reuters TV reports.