In a long and personal interview in Argentinean newspaper La Voz del Pueblo, the Pope said that he made this promise on the night of July 15, 1990.

"I told myself: 'It's not for me'," Francis was reported as saying.

He doesn't use the Internet either.

Instead, the Pope keeps up with the news by reading Italy's La Repubblica newspaper for up to 10 minutes each day.

Members of the Swiss Guard keep the Pope updated with soccer scores.

But Francis did mention the peril of being taken out of context himself by the media.

Elsewhere in the interview, Pope Francis said he misses walking on city streets as he used to in Buenos Aires and going out for a pizza.

"Ordering one in the Vatican is not the same thing."

Pope Francis said that "being with people does me good".

He said that people understand him and comprehend what he wants to say.

"Psychologically I can't be far from people."

He also revealed that while he doesn't cry in public, he has struggled to hold back tears at times.

One recent example of this came when he was talking about "the persecutions of Christians in Iraq and the fate of the children there".

He also stated that he is not a fan of protocol, but on official occasions he "keeps to it totally".

Francis also admitted his high workload and said "I am under pressure".

He had previously stated that he has not had a holiday since 1994.

The Pope usually goes to bed at 9pm, reads for an hour and sleeps until 4am.

"It's my biological clock," he said.

Asked how he would like to be remembered, Francis said: "As a person who has done his best to do good. I have no other claim."

Sources

• Vatican Radio
• Daily Mail
• New York News
• Image: Inquisitr

In a wide-ranging interview marking his two years on the Seat of St Peter, the Argentine Pope said the only thing he regretted about being made pontiff were the restrictions to his movement.

"The only thing I would like is to go out one day, without being recognised, and go to a pizzeria," he told a Mexican television channel.

"In Buenos Aires I was a rover. I moved between parishes and certainly this habit has changed. It has been hard work to change." Continue reading