– ‘I Love it’ –
The pope revealed his passion for the beguiling tunes to which the dance is performed in an interview several years before he became pontiff.
“I love it. It is stronger than me,” he said. His younger sister has also been quoted as saying that the pontiff, a keen sportsman in his youth, was also a very accomplished dancer.
Last year, on the first anniversary of his election as pope, Radio Vatican marked the occasion by playing several of his favourite tango tunes, including the famous “Por una Cabeza” (“By a head”) by Carlos Gardel.
The papal birthday was celebrated in a very different style by the “Papaboys”, an association of young Catholics who had organised a prayer marathon at the San Lorenzo hostel for pilgrims visiting Rome.
After a midnight mass, the devout group prayed continuously until it was time for the papal audience and subsequently returned to continue in the same vein through an entire 24-hour cycle.
Spanish poultry farmers sent 800 kilogrammes of chicken to be distributed by the Vatican’s charity services via soup kitchens for the homeless around the Catholic headquarters.
The Vatican press office, which stressed that the tango was not an officially sanctioned event, said there would be a surprise for the poor later in the day, without releasing any further details.
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