POPE-BIRTHDAY/TANGO Crowd serenades Pope Francis with a song and tango on his 78th birthday

Record ID: 501858

  • Title: POPE-BIRTHDAY/TANGO Crowd serenades Pope Francis with a song and tango on his 78th birthday
  • Date: 17th December 2014
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) TANGO DANCER, LINDA, SAYING: "We are here for the pope's birthday, we are dancing the tango as our present for him. (JOURNALIST ASKING: "What is your message for the pope?") That life is beautiful." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) TANGO DANCERS, SILVANA AND GIANCARLO, SAYING: "(Silvana) We wish him long life, long life (Giancarlo) and to stay as he is." (SOUND
  • Embargoed: 1st January 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAOGW9LQKC8CZZUTKUVJQMU63C
  • Story Text: There was a party atmosphere at the Vatican on Wednesday (December 17) as hundreds of pilgrims sang Happy Birthday to the pope and thousands danced the tango to mark his 78th birthday.
    The pope, who was born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, heard versions of the birthday song in Spanish, Italian and other languages as he was driven through St. Peter's Square to his weekly general audience.
    One little boy gave the pope a picture he had drawn with Happy Birthday written on top before being blessed.
    A group of Argentinean priests handed the pope a cake and he stopped to blow out the candles. He also sipped at a gourd of an Argentinean tea called Mate.
    Francis is celebrating his second birthday as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and is not expected to do anything special but rather to work and follow his usual routines at the Vatican and the Casa Santa Marta residence where he lives.
    At the back of St. Peter's Square, music blared as more than 2,000 people, who had come to Rome from all over Italy for the birthday celebrations, danced as part of an event called "A tango for Pope Francis."
    "We are here for the pope's birthday. We are dancing the tango as our present to him," said dancer Linda.
    "We wish him long life, long life and to stay as you are" said husband and wife dancers Silvana and Giancarlo.
    "We are here for Pope Francis. We have come here especially for this and will stay two days, it is a great joy and emotion" said tango dancer Marco.
    Francis, who became the first Latin American pope when he was elected in 2013, is known to be a fan of the dance, which is closely associated with the land of his birth.
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