The “zucchetto switcheroo” is a long-held tradition for popes and pilgrims.
A guest presents the pope with a brand new white skullcap and the
pope is expected to take it and swap it with the one he’s wearing on his
head.
While many pilgrims are familiar with the practice, we’ve noticed a
newly elected pope usually needs a quick explanation from an aide or
security guard when someone suddenly presents him with a fresh new cap
purchased from the papal tailors at Gammarelli’s.
But once they know the drill, everyone from Blessed John Paul II to
Popes Benedict and Francis has happily engaged in the tradition, letting
the lucky pilgrim get a souvenir of a lifetime.
One such lucky pilgrim at yesterday’s general audience was a student
from Providence College, R.I. who is spending a semester studying in
Rome.
Joseph Day, a native of Rehoboth, Mass., stretched his arm out over
the heads of his classmates to give Pope Francis a zucchetto with a hot
pink sticky note stuck inside.
Our photographer, Paul Haring, was there with his telephoto lens to capture the moment and the secreted note.
According to news reports, Day had written “Providence College loves Pope Francis.”
The pope took off his own cap and put on Day’s gift, but then he gave it right back after glancing at the note.
It’s become a bit of a custom for Pope Francis to choose to keep his
own skullcap after he places the gifted one briefly on his head and
returns it to the gifter.
It’s just a guess on my part, but maybe he’s doing it to avoid any
embarrassing misfits as happened in Rio this summer when someone gave
him an oversize cap that looked like it had been stuffed in a pocket or
backpack...