- Feb 5, 2002
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What do popes drink when they’re relaxing? Francis often drinks "mate," the famous tea of Argentina, but John Paul II and Benedict XVI had different tastes.
The famous phrase “we need saints who wear jeans and drink Coca-Cola,” sometimes attributed to Pope Francis or John Paul II on social networks, is in fact apocryphal. Nevertheless, John Paul II, who certainly didn’t wear jeans, is the first saint known to drink the fizzy beverage on a regular basis.
With close ties to the Polish diaspora in the United States, where he visited several times as a cardinal, the future pope was a great fan of Coca-Cola, a product that was obviously hard to find in Communist Poland. His biographers tell us that, during the Second Vatican Council, the then young bishop of Krakow regularly went to the refreshment bar during the late-morning break for a Coke.
This preference continued throughout his pontificate. Those who accompanied him on his flights will remember that a discreet Vatican Radio technician, Alberto, was often asked to ensure that he always had a few cans on hand when he traveled.
Continued below.
aleteia.org
The famous phrase “we need saints who wear jeans and drink Coca-Cola,” sometimes attributed to Pope Francis or John Paul II on social networks, is in fact apocryphal. Nevertheless, John Paul II, who certainly didn’t wear jeans, is the first saint known to drink the fizzy beverage on a regular basis.
With close ties to the Polish diaspora in the United States, where he visited several times as a cardinal, the future pope was a great fan of Coca-Cola, a product that was obviously hard to find in Communist Poland. His biographers tell us that, during the Second Vatican Council, the then young bishop of Krakow regularly went to the refreshment bar during the late-morning break for a Coke.
This preference continued throughout his pontificate. Those who accompanied him on his flights will remember that a discreet Vatican Radio technician, Alberto, was often asked to ensure that he always had a few cans on hand when he traveled.
Coca-Cola and World Youth Day 1993
Continued below.
A Coke for John Paul II, a Fanta for Benedict XVI
What do popes drink when they’re relaxing? Francis often drinks mate, the national drink of Argentina, but John Paul II and Benedict XVI had different tastes.
aleteia.org
