Pope visits Rome record shop

Image: Vatican News/Twitter

Source: Vatican News

Pope Francis made a surprise visit to a vintage record shop in Rome on Tuesday evening. Arriving in a white Fiat 500L, he popped in to bless the newly renovated premises on 'Stereosound' in Via della Minerva, near the Pantheon. The Holy Father got to know the store owners ago when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and stayed in the Casa del Clero in the nearby Via della Scrofa on visits to Rome. During his short visit, wearing a facemask, Pope Francis blessed Letizia Giostra, the owner, her son-in-law and her daughter - who gave him a vinyl LP wrapped in blue paper.

A small crowd gathered outside to watch the VIP visitor. Among them was Javier Martínez Brocal, editor of the Rome-based news website Rome Reports - who took this photo that soon went viral on social media.

Pope Francis saw the picture and wrote a note thanking Brocal for his "noble" post. He joked that it was unfortunate, after taking so many precautions, a journalist was "waiting for him at the cab stop" - but went on to clarify that he was joking." We must not lose our sense of humour," he said, adding that reporters must "fulfil their vocation" as journalists, even if it makes others uncomfortable.

In his note Pope Francis admitted: "What I miss most in this Diocese is not being able to 'wander the streets,' as I did in Buenos Aires, walking from one parish to another."

Pope Francis has been seen on a few informal shopping trips since his pontificate began. In September 2015 he went to an optician to change his glasses. In December 2016 he was seen visiting an orthopaedic shoe shop.

On several occasions the Pope has said he misses being able to move freely about the city. In 2017, in an interview with Scarp de tenis, a magazine run by homeless persons in Milan he "said: There is only one thing I miss very much: the possibility of going out and wandering around on the street. I enjoy visiting parishes and meeting people."