A prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: Among those who have accepted the appeal launched yesterday by Pope Francis is Adriano Stefanelli, master shoemaker who has been making shoes entirely by hand in his workshop in the center of Novara since 1956. to the most important men in the world, including Ratzinger, for whom he made the famous red shoes. “I’ve already prayed for him,” Stefanelli told Adnkronos, recalling that the famous red moccasins had earned the pope emeritus the title of “the most elegant man according to the American magazine ‘Esquire'”.
«Red moccasins were a novelty that Ratzinger wanted – says Stefanelli – I made burgundy shoes for Pope Wojtyla, when they placed the order for Ratzinger I made them burgundy, instead they told me he wanted them red. I immediately fixed it by making them red and then I gave him 7-8 pairs». The master shoemaker from Novara had the opportunity to meet and get to know the Pope Emeritus: “He is a very, very cultivated person and a very elegant man. A beautiful person.”
