10 years ago

It was exactly 10 years ago that Pope Benedict XVI was visiting Malta. I happened to be in Malta because my mother was ending her life here on earth, and in fact, she passed away a week later. I was able to concelebrate with Pope Benedict at Floriana in an open-air Mass filled with thousands of people, including close to 800 priests. Obviously, I had my camera with me, and even though I was told afterwards that priests were told not to carry cameras or cell-phones with them, I took close to 220 photos that day, including some that I share with you today. I had chosen a strategic seat where I could see the Pope in his presidential chair, and so I took quite a few good photos, including the best one seen here at the top, as he is walking towards the altar. It was used a few times in the front page of a few local newspapers. 

Being an amateur photographer, I think this was a one-in-a-million shots that captured the personality of Pope Benedict. Incidentally, this past week he broke a record of being the longest-living Pope in history. Before him, it was Pope Leo XIII who had the record of 93 years, but now Benedict claims that record. Maybe it’s the beer that he drinks occasionally, or the piano-playing that he enjoys, which keeps him going, as a retired Pope, also known as Pope Emeritus. Ad Multos Annos!