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Pope and Ferrari


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#1 poorboy

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Posted 13 March 2003 - 16:05

Is it right that Pope attended Maranello soon after death of Commendatore Ferrari and even blessed the team to fight for vic-tories and title?
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#2 Mickey

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Posted 13 March 2003 - 16:16

The Pope visited Maranello shortly before Enzo passed away. Il Commendatore was however too ill to meet him in person, so they talked over the phone instead.

Don't know about the exact blessings though.

#3 Mickey

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Posted 13 March 2003 - 16:22

Check out the pic here, with Piero Lardi Ferrari, Gerhard Berger, and Michele Alboreto barely visible just behind Gerhard.

#4 David M. Kane

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Posted 13 March 2003 - 21:20

In that phone conversation he told the Pope that he had not been a very
good Catholic and would he please pray for him and forgive all his bad
actions.

#5 Ray Bell

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Posted 13 March 2003 - 21:22

I never thought Enzo would be one for making such standard speeches...

Wonder if the pope said: "I've heard it all before!"?

#6 Wolf

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Posted 13 March 2003 - 21:32

Why would it be surprising? First, blessings in Catholic 'world' are not all that uncommon- blessings of houses (usu. parish priests make a tour blessing each parishoner's house), crops, food, even vehicles. Pope regularly blesses visitors to Vatican (any visitor to Vatican is upon request granted, admittedly group, audiency with His Holiness where he blesses them*). I figure Enzo's passing away would be in pontificate of, current, Pope John Paul II (or, Johhny Walker, as he is here affectionately referred to) which makes it even less surprising.

* that can't be said of many other statesmen ;)

EDIT: Besides, if another Pope could have expressed his concerns for rate at which Ferrari drivers were dying in accidents, or something to that effect, clearly blessing the team would not be inappropriate...

#7 Mila

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Posted 13 March 2003 - 23:21

I thought that, more specifically, the Pope blessed the cars. (?)

#8 cabianca

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Posted 14 March 2003 - 03:03

The pope certainly wasn't the first person Enzo kept waiting for a scheduled appointment. One of the drivers who won the GT class at Le Mans in a Ferrari (think it may have been the stonemason, Tavano) went down to the factory afterward and was in the waiting room for over an hour with a couple he couldn't recognize in the semi-darkness. When the door to Ferrari's office finally opened, the driver was shocked to see it was the Shah of Iran.