Rome’s clergy tailors find a subdued mood under low-key Pope Francis
Josephine McKenna
ROME (RNS) When Pope Francis appoints 19 new cardinals at St. Peter’s Basilica at the end of February, the Vatican will be bathed in a sea of red. The newly appointed “princes of the church” will don their scarlet robes and signature silk hats for the first time as other well-dressed members of the College of Cardinals look on.
They will not be the only ones celebrating.
While the new pope has adopted a more austere approach to what he wears, the Vatican’s leading tailor and other outfitters are expecting a notable spike in business when the world’s cardinals gather in Rome to welcome new members to their ranks.
Annibale Gammarelli and six generations of his family have dressed the popes since 1798, and their store is a historic landmark in the heart of Rome just behind the Pantheon.
http://www.religionnews.com/2014/02/06/romes-clergy-tailors-find-subdued-mood-low-key-pope-francis/