A skull cap worn by Pope Francis which was put on eBay has already gathered more than $250,000 in less than 36 hours. An Italian TV host coaxed the Pope to put his ‘papalina’ to auction and donate the money to the kids of the DR Congo.
The Pope was cajoled into auctioning his white skull cap by a host of the satirical show ‘Le Iene’ (The Hyenas).
The compere made sure he was early to get front row seats for one of the pontiff’s addresses in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. He managed to catch the Pope’s attention and tried to convince him to give him his ‘holy’ cap in exchange of a new one offered by the host.
The video released on the program’s website shows that the pontiff examined the cap. Then he took the host’s cap and gave him his own.
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The skull cap was posted on eBay on Wednesday evening It already gained over $100,000 in first 24 hours. On Friday morning the price rose to $250,000.
The auction closes at Wednesday, September 14.
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All the money raised due to the Francis’ skullcap will be given to an Italian charity organization which is donating money to fight child mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the producers of the program.
A papalina, or skull cap, is worn by clerics of Catholic Church and used by the higher clergy in Anglican and in Orthodox Church traditions. Usually made of silk or polyester fabric, it is worn throughout most of the Mass.
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, has become extremely popular for his open-minded speeches, as well as for his noted humility and concern for the poor. In addition to speaking on an end to violence in the Middle East and eastern Ukraine, the Pope has blasted the Italian Mafia and publicly apologized for the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clerics.
The Pope also recently shared 10 tips for living a happy, peaceful and fulfilled life.
