Bump cannot stop Pope paying tribute
POPE Francis cut his brow and had blood on his white cape Sunday when he bumped into the window of his Popemobile while waving to admirers in Colombia.
Francis, 80, was standing up in the special vehicle during a procession through the Caribbean city of Cartagena when the vehicle braked sharply.
With only a hip-high bar to hold on to, he lost his balance and suffered a bruised, black left eye and a cut on his eyebrow that dripped blood on to his white cassock.
Television pictures showed him colliding with the glassand-white frame of the vehicle’s covered platform, and then being assisted by his bodyguard.
After being helped from the car, the cut was quickly bandaged with a butterfly patch and Francis carried on without incident with his program. He visited the St Peter Claver church, where he praised the 17th century missionary for having recognised the inherent dignity of slaves.
Francis, known for his simple and austere style, said Claver was “austere and charitable to the point of heroism”.
Claver, the self-described “slave of the slaves forever,” has been revered by Jesuits, popes and human rights campaigners for centuries for having insisted on treating slaves as children of God and worthy of love when others considered them mere merchandise to be bought and sold.
The incident happened on the last day of the pope’s fourcity Colombian tour. He was due to fly back to Rome later in the day.