.Some homeless Minneapolis residents are walking in the pope's shoes.
That's after two big boxes from Rome arrived at Sharing and Caring Hands, a homeless mission in downtown Minneapolis. Recently, the Rev. Joseph Johnson, the rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul gave some friends from the Vatican a tour of the facility while they were visiting the Twin Cities.
Sharing and Caring Hands has an on-site shoe room, but director Mary Jo Copeland didn't know what was in the big boxes when they arrived.
"Father (Johnson) says, 'That's from the Pope.' I said, What do you mean? The Pope," said Copeland.
She opened them to find several dozen pairs of handmade Italian shoes to give to the poor.
"These are just grand! This is just the best gift. That Pope Benedict, wherever you are, God bless you!" said Copeland.
Johnson said Benedict got the shoes from an Italian shoemaker who asked that they be distributed to the poor.
Tasha Allen, who received a pair of the shoes, said, "It's a blessing for everybody. All the kids love them. The parents love them, too. I just can't stop smiling. Thank you pope."
For herself, Copeland received a note from the Vatican and a picture of the pope.
"That was very nice because now the pope is praying for me," she said. "I know I'll keep going," said Copeland. StarTribune
4 comments:
Actually those shoes look more like birkenstocks than Prada. And heck, with as hard as the Holy Father works and given his dedication of his life to the Church I don't begrudge him Prada shoes! The vicar of Christ deserves nice shoes.
Sanctus:
I couldn't tell one brand of shoes from any other; where I shop, price is more important than brand, anyway. [GR]
But I don't begrudge the Pope a nice pair of shoes to go with his various ensembles. And I would imagine the Italian Shoe Manufactures Ass'n, or whatever name they go by, appreciates that he "buys local." They wouldn't like to see him buying his steel-toed footwear at Red Wing Shoes, for example.
I wonder, though, if he goes to the local shoe store in downtown Rome, or does he buy through the Internet to get better pricing.
Does this mean there will be a wave of homeless folks being robbed for their shoes?
I wish the Holy Father would send over some Blahnik's size 10 U.S.(42 European). Maybe he will drop them down my chimney at Christmas. Oh, wait, I don't have a fireplace...
Just kidding. Very kind and thoughtful gift.
Cathy:
I remember once, a long time ago, I bought a pair of nice slippers for my Mom for Christmas. I had no idea what size, in fact I had no idea of any sizes for women on any items. So I just guessed that it would be size five.
Well, she was a nine. Fortunately I was able to find the same slipper in a nine. She loved them and in fact my sister wears them now.
Post a Comment