The Pope’s Childhood Memory: Bulgarian Yogurt and His Desire to Visit Bulgaria

“It’s not a myth! The Pope really loved Bulgarian yogurt,” shared Prof. Kiril Topalov, who served as Bulgaria’s ambassador to the Vatican from 2013 to 2019, in an interview with bTV.

Prof. Topalov’s tenure began shortly after Pope Francis was elected in 2013. He played a key role in preparing for the Pope's visit to Bulgaria, which took place from May 5-7, 2019.

During his visit, Pope Francis shared his reasons for wanting to come to Bulgaria, as recalled by Prof. Topalov. The Pope explained that as a child, his Argentine grandmother fed him Bulgarian yogurt, which sparked his curiosity about the country. “Some people ask why I wanted to visit Bulgaria so much,” the Pope said, “even as a baby, I was fed Bulgarian yogurt by my Argentine grandmother. Even then, I wondered what kind of country made this yogurt.”

Additionally, Prof. Topalov recounted an extraordinary conversation with Pope Francis when presenting his credentials. “Protocol typically requires the letters of credence to be presented in a brief 15-minute meeting, but we ended up talking for an hour and a half,” he noted.