The Pope's red shoes

When the dailies flashed on front page the photo of Pope Benedict XVI's US visit this week, the first I noticed were the reddish-brown papal shoes. These gave a stark contrast to his white/cream habit. It also looked like he was wearing cream thermals instead of pants, so you wouldn't miss the shoes. They were that conspicuous. Seeing the photo that morning made my day at seven thirty a.m. at that.

The Papal Cobbler's business picking up

This morning, I passed by the newsstand and found on page one a closeup of the red papal shoes! It's amusing to hear that there's talk going around about it (well it somehow deserves to , unlike Hillary Clinton's cleavage a year ago, which was nothing much really). Some even speculated that the shoes were a Prada, but they were after all a tradition brought back, custom-made by the Pope's cobbler.

The cobbler, who knows, these days, this cobbler may no longer be an anonymous chap cutting leather. The shoes look like the stuff that frequents GQ recommends, and worn only by the most illustrious businessmen yachting in Monaco. This papal cobbler must be Italian, no doubt.

The shoes redefining the Pope

Donned by the Pope, I thought this was quite a secular sign which is more interesting than eyebrow-raising.

Especially in the early stages of his papacy, Pope Benedict has been regarded with skeptical eyes, being known as a stern cardinal, a German with the hostility of a Nazi threaded into his personal history. Inevitable, too, are the comparisons with his successor Pope John Paul II, amiable, sanguine as he was a thespian, and well-loved in the world over with his humor.

But for the first time, I see Pope Benedict as an endearing old grandpere, arms outstretched to scoop you in, and feet walking towards you excitedly in glistening red shoes.

I have limited resources and even fewer encounters with Pope Benedict's writings, but I am always as interested to read them. My reasons may be far from religious, but I have admiration for the intelligence of this man. From reading his teachings, I find him meek and submitting, as he is stern, and with a mind that's open and embracing, as he is rigidly Catholic.

Religious tradition or a possibly infallible addition to today's wardrobe, the red papal shoes may be a signal that we are on the cusp of redefining, and little by little, accepting Papa Ben.