It might seem like the start of a hilarious joke, but Monday a man pretending to be a bishop really did try to sneak his way into the secret meetings Catholic cardinals are holding at the Vatican to decide who will become the next pope.

And despite the fact that he was wearing a cassock that was too short, he almost–almost–managed to infiltrate the super secret gathering.

The prankster, identified as Ralph Napierski, made it through at least one level of security and even managed to get photos snapped with Italian Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, president emeritus of the Vatican’s Prefecture for Economic Affairs, before he was caught.

USA Today:

Napierski was wearing a too-short cassock, a black fedora in place of a clergy’s skull cap and a bright purple-pink sash that turned out to be a simple winter scarf. He was accompanied by a small entourage of fake priest assistants, according to some Italian news reports.

Napierski milled around the area outside the meetings for half an hour with no problems. He told onlookers his name was Basilius and that he was a bishop in the Italian Orthodox Church, which does not exist.

…Napierski was stopped by security before he was able to enter the auditorium hosting the meetings. It is not clear what his intentions were in trying to enter the meetings.

Read more

— Posted by Tracy Bloom.

 Wait, before you go…

If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface.  We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.

Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.

Support Truthdig
In this Article:
#pope#vatican