Everything the well-dressed Pope requires
At a tiny, centuries-old shop in Rome, tailors are already at work on sumptuous vestments for a new pontiff.
Pope Benedict XVI leaves at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square in this May 19, 2010 file picture. Pope Benedict will step down on Feb. 28. At Gammarelli, a discreet oak-panelled tailor’s shop in central Rome, they are expected to be already creating vestments for the new pope – in a range of sizes.ALESSANDRO BIANCHI/Reuters
In this photo made available by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, wearing golden vestments and clutching his pastoral staff, waits inside St. Peter’s Basilica prior to his instalment Mass in St. Peter’s Square, April 24, 2005.The Associated Press
In this April 12, 2005 file photo, Annibale Gammarelli, whose family has been dressing Roman Catholic clergy since 1793, exits his tailoring shop in Rome with three sets of outfits on display. The vestments – in small, medium and large – were shipped to the Vatican for the new pope.PETER DEJONG/The Associated Press
Once the white smoke has appeared from the Sistine Chapel, signifying a pope has been chosen, nuns at the Vatican make last-minute alterations to the robes that are the closest fit before the new pontiff walks out onto his balcony to face the world.PETER DEJONG/The Associated Press
A red shoe made by shoemaker Antonio Arellano for Pope Benedict XVI is seen on a work bench in Mr. Arellano’s shop in downtown Rome Feb. 14, 2013. With Benedict set to retire to an apartment inside Vatican City, Mr. Arellano hopes he will remain his customer, even if the pope no longer visits in person.TONY GENTILE/Reuters
Mr. Arellano works on a shoe for Pope Benedict in his shop. 'He wears out the toe when he prays, so I repair them,' says the shoemaker.TONY GENTILE/Reuters
A picture, top left, of Mr. Arellano giving Pope Benedict XVI a pair of red shoes is displayed in his shop in downtown Rome.TONY GENTILE/Reuters
In this Dec. 21, 2005 file photo, Pope Benedict XVI waves in St. Peter’s Square. The red hat with white fur trimming, known as the camauro, was popular among pontiffs in the 17th century. During his papacy Benedict sought to restore traditions largely abandoned in modern times, including donning pontifical hats and other clothing that hadn’t been worn in decades.Alessandra Tarantino/The Associated Press
A Papal white skull cap and burgundy shoes are displayed in Gammarelli’s tailor shop window in this file photo.ALESSIA PIERDOMENICO/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI walks at the end of his weekly Wednesday general audience at the Vatican in this Sept. 14, 2005 file picture. His fondness for reviving costumes unseen for generations and a range of flamboyant hats prompted the Wall Street Journal to ask ‘Does the Pope Wear Prada?’TONY GENTILE/Reuters