Whose outfit will new pope wear?
For decades, one Rome tailor has been making the white cassock new popes wear immediately after election, but this time, he has a competition.The Gammarelli tailors traditionally prepare three outfits — short, medium, and tall — to fit new pontiffs, whatever their size, but say the Vatican has asked them not to offer anything this time.With just hours to go before cardinals are locked into the Sistine Chapel to elect Pope Francis' successor, rival tailor Raniero Mancinelli is offering his own set, although the Vatican has not asked him to."I have to deliver them today or tomorrow... They have to be ready before the conclave to be used if needed," 86-year-old Mancinelli said on May 5.Mancinelli made clothes for several popes in the past, but never had the honor of making the first outfit worn when the pope addressed the public from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica.He is hand-making the lightweight wool cassocks, sashes and white zucchettos -- or skullcaps -- to be delivered to the Vatican before the conclave, which starts on May 7.Mancinelli is also making three sizes to cover all possibilities.But his are "small, medium or large", to fit different girths rather than heights, as the length will not be visible when the pontiff first appears.Lorenzo Gammarelli told last week his family-run tailors had been readying to make the three virgin cassocks, as per tradition, but was "told by the Vatican that they have taken care of it."He said he assumed the vestments for the new pope would "be those of the previous conclaves, because each time we made three robes and they used only one."But Mancinelli, who has been a tailor for 70 years in his historic shop on the Borgo Pio, a stone's throw from the Vatican, hopes otherwise.
An offering
Mancinelli has the necessary skills, having worked under seven popes.
"With so many priests, bishops, and cardinals coming and going, it's hard to remember them all," he said.--ucanews.com
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