It is a detail in the clothing of the emeritus pope who died this Saturday: black shoes on his feet.
A little more than 24 hours after his death, the first images of the body of Benedict XVI -died this December 31 in Italy- in the burning chapel who bids farewell to the pope emeritus. In them was seen a particular modesty detail.
It is about the footwear that was chosen for the posthumous ceremony of whoever was the head honcho of the Catholic Church. In the photographs, modest and inconspicuous black shoes are seen on his feet.
This is a striking fact given that Joseph Ratzinger embraced the tradition of wearing red shoes during his papacy. So much so that he was involved in a strong controversy for them, when an American media revealed that the garments were the exclusive Prada brand, a fact that was misleading.
But the information had such an impact on the image of a pope who was already dragging the sins of his youth and a refractory and ultra-conservative profile, that the Vatican echoed those sayings and, consequently, sent spokesmen to deny the fact that the pope will wear clothing from the important Italian fashion brand.
And they did it with a curious phrase that went down in history: “The Pope does not wear Prada, he wears Christ”.
Benedict XVI had the curiosity to be the first pope to resign his position. He did it in 2013 – he was succeeded by the Argentine Francisco, eternal internal rival in the ecclesiastical political fabric -, in a fact that broke seven centuries of tradition.
The death of Benedict XVI
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died this Saturday, December 31, 2022 at the age of 95, full of ailments but with a lucid mind, a historical figure of the Church, a great theologian, who for forty years was at the forefront of the Vatican summits. . As reported by the Vatican, the death occurred at 9:34 Italian time, in the residence of the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery.
First, since 1981, as Cardinal Guardian of Doctrinal Orthodoxy and Church Discipline. Joseph Ratzinger was the trusted man of Saint John Paul II, in practice the number two in the Church due to his importance and influence in the long 26-year pontificate of Karol Wojtyla.
The Polish Pope led him to his succession by naming him Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, which allowed him in 2005 to guide the 115 cardinals who elected him in two days in the Sistine Chapel under the name of Benedict XVI. Once again it was shown that the saying that he assures is not true: whoever enters the Conclave as a Pope leaves as a cardinal.
After eight years of conservative pontificate, Ratzinger resigned on February 28, 2013, a long-considered decision.
DS