Since Gregory III, a Syrian pope who ruled in the eighth century, Francis is the first pope from outside of Europe to be a member of the Society of Jesus, the first pope from the Americas, and the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere.
Does the Does the Pope drink alcohol? drink alcohol?
Fans of Scotch whisky didn’t need any spiritual proof to believe that their favorite drink is indeed divine.
But the fact that Pope Francis has actually called Scotch whisky “the real holy water” helps. It’s important to remember that he did say it as a joke to the Scottish student priests who gave him a bottle at a Vatican reception.
Despite the fact that the moment was captured on video last year, the story only recently gained attention. The piece of footage that the Vatican censored was for a BBC documentary that will soon be released about seminarians at the Pontifical Scots College in Rome. The scene was described by documentary director Tony Kearney in an article in the Daily Record:
“When they handed him the bottle, he held it up and said, “Questa e la vera acqua santa,” which means “This is the real holy water.” He was really down-to-earth with them all—the student priests—and when they handed it to him, he held it up and said “Questa e la vera acqua santa.”
He was talking about a bottle of Oban from the west coast of Scotland. Both the 14-year-old and the 21-year-old are excellent whiskies, by the way.
The fact that this isn’t the first time Pope Francis has received bottles or even used the “holy water line” suggests, based on previous evidence, that he may indeed enjoy the occasional sip of whisky (which he is permitted to consume).
