Pope's catch of curious gift thrown from crowd sparks admiration and concern
Pope Leo has impressed the world with a one-handed catch of a gift thrown to him from the crowd at St Peter's Square – though it also sparked debate around his security.
The 69-year-old was waving to the crowd from his 'popemobile' as it trundled around the Vatican during his weekly general audience on Wednesday.
He nearly missed a plush doll made in his likeness being held up by one fan as he passed by a few feet away.
But, noticing it at the last second, he appeared to encourage its owner to toss it over.
The wellwisher obliged, and Pope Leo caught the doll neatly in one hand without breaking his stance.
Footage of the moment quickly went viral, with many commenting the moment hearkened to his American roots.
'Baseball level catch. You can tell by the form,' one user said on X.
Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, who became head of the Catholic Church as Pope Leo XIV on May 8, is known to be an ardent fan of his hometown's White Sox baseball team.
Others argued it was concerning that a member of the public should have been able to throw something into the popemobile.
'Adorable but his security is definitely slipping,' one wrote.
Another said: 'This is honestly lovely to see but what is his security doing? Seriously.'
However the incident clearly did not faze the Pope's bodyguards, and the person who threw the doll did not face any reaction from them.
Renowned personal security expert Will Geddes previously said Pope Leo's popemobile trips are protected with several layers of extremely tough security.
He told Tyla magazine earlier this month that the Vatican security team 'would have strongly advised against it if they felt that they did not have control of the environments he was going to be driving through – and that's not just on the ground, that's also the high ground – people spotters, snipers, alike, who are going to be on rooftops who will have a good overwatch of the crowd below'. More Trending
He added: 'That would also mean that they've got good security on the grounds in controlling and searching and testing for anybody who's coming into that environment, and ensuring that they didn't have a repeat of the previous assassination attempt [of Pope John Paul] back in 1981.'
In the wake of his election, there was some speculation as to whether he supported the White Sox or their Chicago Cubs rivals.
But his brother, John Prevost, clarified Robert was 'always a Sox fan' and footage has emerged of him in the team's stands at a 2005 game.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Pope Leo set to meet with Ukraine's Zelensky and JD Vance after inauguration
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