The residents of a small town were eagerly anticipating the Pope’s visit and they were all dressed up in their best Sunday clothes.
Everyone lined up on the main street that ran through the town, hoping for a personal blessing from the Pope.
One local man had put on his best suit and he was sure that the Pope would stop and talk to him.
By the time the man arrived, the street was already lined with hundreds of people and he ended up standing next to an exceptionally down-trodden looking bum who not only looked really dirty and scruffy, he didn’t smell very good either.
As the Pope came walking past, he leaned over and said something to the bum, then walked right by the local man as if he hadn’t even noticed him.
The local man couldn’t believe it, then it hit him. The Pope wouldn’t talk to him because, he is concerned for the unfortunate people, the poor and feeble ones.
Thinking fast, the local man gave the bum $20 to trade clothes with him.
He put on the bums clothing and ran down the street to line up for another chance for the Pope to stop and talk to him.
Sure enough, the Pope walked right up to him this time.
The Pope leaned over close and said, “I thought I told you to get out of here!”
Image used under a Collective Commons License from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pope_Francis_Korea_Haemi_Castle_19_(cropped).jpg
