Church officials in Italy's Bolzano-Bressanone diocese report that Pope Benedict XVI will have the company of a black cat named Milly during his 2-week stay there, the ANSA news service reports. The Holy Father will stay at the seminary in Bressanone, in a building that dates back to 1050 and once served as a stopover for travelers crossing the Italian Alps.
The seminary will be unoccupied during the Pope's stay-- from July 28 to August 11-- except for the Pope's party, the administrative staff, and Milly, the resident cat.
Seminary officials report that they have installed a grand piano, conscious that the Pope enjoys playing the instrument.
The piano will also serve the Pope's brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, a former music director who will join the Pontiff during his vacation.
During the Pope's brief stay at the Kenthurst Study Center outside Sydney, Australia, after his flight from Rome, many media outlets carried the story that the administration of the Opus Dei center had ensured the presence of a cat to keep the Pope amused.
Father Federico Lombardi, the spokesman for the Holy See, told reporters those stories were inaccurate.
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