Papa's papal cuteness quotient is too high to be measured. it's off the charts.

Oh absolutely, benefan - off the charts, in every sense!

He's almost 80, he's the Pope, he's a super-intellect, he's the world's supreme moral authority -
but he's also a doll, a dish, a love, and every Benaddict's dream of what a man should be.
What a phenomenon - BENEDETTO, DA DIO ELETTO, DA DIO BENEDETTO!

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 28/10/2006 23.19]

Caterina was able to scan a few images from the proposed calendar which will go on sale later this month.
Bruno from Salerno cropped this one and added the Pope's coat of arms and his name for an instant poster.
I can only say again what I wrote in the post above!

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 04/11/2006 23.36]

Yes, our Papa certainly has that boyish look when he likes and, when you look at photos of him as a child, the resemblance between the man and the boy is striking - no doubting who he is!

I don't want to upset anyone, but I have also seen his eyes very close up and they are not at all blue. They have shades of brown, green and grey, but the amount of each colour is not always the same. His expressions are measureless and boundless! When he's administering Holy Communion he is completely serious, absorbed and holy. When he's greeting the crowds he shows a great variety of expressions, the wide-eyed look being perhaps the most charming and the one which shows to best advantage his enormous intelligence.

I'm amazed I've written so much! Most of the time his appearance leaves me speechless - as Nan and Bood know only too well!

Luff and Peez! Mary x

What a beautiful photo, Teresa! He looked so holy at that Mass in his crimson chasuble. The liturgy was all in Latin, apart from the readings and Papa's homily. It was a most moving experience.
It proves, too, that the Novus Ordo in Latin can be just as reverent as it is in the Tridentine Rite.
Vivat lingua Latina!
Mary x

Danich in the main forum posted quite a few pictures she found on the web recently. I think these are mostly from Cologne 2005.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/11/2006 11.57]

More from Danich -

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/11/2006 12.00]

Josie in the main forum found this on a JP-II site -
Cardinal Ratzinger is shown greeting John Paul-II shortly after Wojtyla was proclaimed Pope.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/11/2006 16.26]

From the 11/08 General Audience, courtesy of Paparatzifan -



Caterina has this from a past audience -

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 12/11/2006 3.28]

Superb and totally beautiful photos of a very young-looking Papa from Koln last year!!!!! Thanks a million!

I have two questions:
1. In the photo with JPII our Papa is wearing his "original" Cardinal's ring. Does anyone know when Georg gave him the amethyst one with the pelican design? And what happened to the original ring?

2. How and from where may we buy this Famiglia Christiana calendar???????????????? Some of us can't live without it!

In prayerful anticipation - Mary x

THIS IS THE FORUM EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT!

Mary,

The calendar discussion came up on the Chatter thread a couple of days ago and a couple of people offered some suggestions on how the calendar might be purchased. I suspect the Italian girls will find out more as the publication date approaches and maybe Teresa can pass on that information to us. I suspect the calendar will be a hot item for our fellow forum dwellers. If I find anything pertinent in my usual news scans, I'll post the details on the Chatter thread.

From Teresa:
Excuse me for getting into your space, Benefan, I just did not want to open another message box here about the calendar, which has been under discussion in CHATTER as you said.

Unfortunately, the best that the Italian girls have come up with so far is to write (by snail mail) to Edizione San Paolo which publishes the calendar. If you do not have any contacts in Italy who can buy it for you when FAMIGLIA CRISTIANA comes out with it, in the news stands, on November 23, try sending an e-mail to
renato.miorelli@st.pauls.it
who is responsible for 'direct marketing.'

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 11/11/2006 19.28]

Benefan and Teresa - thank you for the information. I'm a bit behind with all this, but I'll keep my eyes open for future details on one of our threads. I think we ALL want this calendar!
Luff, Mary x

Some of Papino's audiences have been occasions for a seemingly inexhaustible catalog of transcendent,
sublimely beautiful photographs of him that one can only contemplate the pictures with awe and wonder.
I don't know any other personality, past or present, who is so consistently incandescent or downright
resplendent as our Beloved Benedict.

The audience on 11/08/06 was one of those, as we can see in these pictures from a selection by
Paparatzifan - and these are only from Photogallery! Imagine if one searched through all the photos
that Osservatore Romano, Foto Felici, and the other news and photo agencies took....























And my pick of the lot (two of which I posted in the previous page as a preview) -

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 12/11/2006 4.29]

Fabulous feast of Papa photos!!!!


God bless Papa.

Paparatzifan has unloaded two more installments of the 11/8/06 photographs from PHOTOGALLERY -
and not having the time right now to choose, sort and re-post her choices in our section,
this one is a heart-stopper!

Yes... it most definitely is *sigh*

From the Energizer Bunny of audiences, here are two Spaziani snapshots chosen by Ratzigirl:





A born rubacuori Papino surely is! He can't help it! - But who's complaining? UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.....

This might well be everyone's choice from among the early photos posted of the general audience today -
even if it looks like the barber just made his regular visit.

...Or this! The 11/15 audience is shaping up to be another cornucopia of UMMMMMMMMMM photos of
our 'youthening' Pope....

This one is from CAterina -

---

Scritto da: TERESA BENEDETTA 15/11/2006 23.15
This might well be everyone's choice from among the early photos posted of the general audience today -
even if it looks like the barber just made his regular visit.

---

Ooo

I'm starting to think this thread should be renamed the Good Day thread.

I love your word, incandescent, Teresa - very apt for all these photos!
Bood and I are in agreement - that last one TOPS THE LOT!!!!!! It is just asking to be printed at A4 size on the best photo paper, framed and put on my wall. Um, just one problem....do I have any space? It's already wallpapered with photos of Papa!

Of course, being concerned as always about whether our Papa is warm enough, I've noticed the turned back cuffs of what is clearly a woollen sweater, thicker and warmer than the slightly open-weave cotton sweatshirt he has been wearing. So, my letter must have got through to him......

Luff, Mary x

Has Photogallery ever been so prodigious in its 'portrait' coverage of Papino as it has been the past three weeks?
I can only use the word cornucopia (horn of plenty, that just keeps giving) again for their weekly catalog of
snapshot-portraits from the Wednesday audiences.

How I wish they could do the same for the Angelus! Is there no zoom lens yet capable of getting close-ups of Papino
from his study window? Somehow, he has a different 'look' at Angelus - as scrumptious as always, but in a different way.


I'm starting to think the Vatican photographers of Photogallery (Spaziani apparently isn't the only one) have all turned
into Benaddicts - if only because it's hard to find a more photogenic subject anywhere. Someone moreover who does
not need make-up, or need to 'pose', and has thousands of stimuli around him and before him at every instant during
these audiences to give him a whole kaleidoscope of facial expressions to mzke even the most exacting photographer delirious with the photo-ops!

Benevolens just posted a whole new string of photos from the 11/15 audience in PICTURES AND VIDEOS, as well as
FOTO DA PAPA in the main forum. I chose these 3 only because they give a semblance of zooming in on his face.







Has anyone checked out Catholic Press Photos lately for their recent photographs of Papino? Sylvie used to use their photographs regularly for her daily montages, which we all miss terribly. (But most of all, we miss you, Sylvie. I do
wish you would send us a word somehow!)

Those pics are absolutely stunning Teresa!!
I will sleep well tonight.

Thank you, Teresa! The photogallery pics are excellent as always!

Retro pics:
Place: St. Peter’s Square
Date: 1983
Person: Our not-yet-Papa
Caption: STUNC

Lutheranguest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mind-blowing! Thanks a million!!!!!!
Made my day!

Luff, Mary xxxx

The pleasure is all mine!!

But - ooops, I forgot: Papa in Rome 1983:

mind blowing is right!!! Lutheranguest... those pics from 1983 are... Ratzi-coma inducing!!!