Why it’s good to be pope
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Why it’s good to be pope
When Benedict XVI became the first pope to retire in 600 years and flew in the papal helicopter to his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, he created a job opening. Yes, being pope is a full-time, 40+ hours per week job, but there are some perks. Here are a few …
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Your word is law.
Roman Catholic doctrine says the Pope “enjoys, by divine institution, supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls.’’ And, presumably, in choosing the pizza toppings when he gets together with the cardinals.
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Your house comes already decorated.
Sure, you have to put up with 5 million people traipsing through the halls to view one of the world’s greatest art collections in the Vatican Museums, but after hours, think of the fun you can have when Ariadne wakes up, Apollo and the nine muses start playing around, and Augustus Caesar tries to order everybody around. Fun times!
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You get to wear wicked cool stuff.
White dresses when it’s not your wedding, the massive Ring of the Fisherman (which probably is more like a petri dish given the number of people who kiss it), the Papal Cross. There’s even a three-tiered gem-encrusted papal tiara, although no one has worn it since Pope Paul VI.
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The Popemobile.
It’s not nearly as cool as the Gestatorial Chair, a throne borne on the shoulders of 12 footmen dressed in red, but it’s far more practical, since it moves faster.
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You have the most blinged-out bodyguards in the world.
The Swiss Guard soldiers wear a blue, red, orange, and yellow uniform, and a black beret or a silver helmet with red, white, yellow, black, and purple ostrich feathers. They can carry an array of weaponry, depending on the circumstances: a sword, a nightstick, a polearm, armor, various semi-automatic pistols (including a Glock), a submachine gun, rifles, and carbines.
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