During the weekly Wednesday audience in the Vatican, Pope Francis shook hands with an unusual visitor. Spiderman was in the audience. The Italian disguised as the comic figure reached out to the pontiff – and he didn’t just touch Spiderman. The comic book hero was also famous.
Spiderman is the 28-year-old Italian Matteo Villardita, who donned the superhero’s costume to see the Pope. The Italian doesn’t just dress up for the Pope. He does this regularly when he visits sick children in hospitals and tries to cheer up the young patients.
Vatican praises the superhero
Villardita asked the Pope to pray for the children and their families. The head of the Catholic Church also touched Villardita’s hand. The Pope did not wear a mask against Covid-19 – and the superhero handed the pontiff a mask of the superhero – “as a sign”, said Villardita, “to tell him that through these eyes I see the pain of sick children in hospitals every day ».
The Pope “immediately understood” his mission, said an excited Villarditas after the audience. This while the Vatican praised the young man as “a really good superhero”. During the long Corona foreclosure, he made more than 1,400 video calls with sick children because he could not visit them personally. (kes)
Published: 06/28/2021, 02:25 am
Last updated: June 28, 2021, 42 minutes ago