VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Astronauts from the International Space Station gave Pope Francis his own blue jump suit on Friday but to distinguish him from ordinary planetary pilgrims like themselves they added a white cape.
“Since clothes make the man, we thought we’d have a flight suit like ours made for you,” Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli told the pope at a meeting in the Vatican also attended by four other Space Station veterans – three Americans and one Russian.
Nespoli said the suit was identical to theirs and made of the same material. It bore the pope’s name at birth, Jorge Bergoglio, and the flag of his native country, Argentina.
“Then we decided that the outfit was good, but, since you are the Holy Father and the Holy Father has his own uniform, we made a cape,” the Italian astronaut added.
The small white cape bore the Vatican flag, the official NASA wings logo and “Pope Francis” embroidered on it.
