音楽愛好家のローマ教皇、レコード店に立ち寄る

【ローマＡＦＰ＝時事】クラシック音楽の愛好家として知られるローマ・カトリック教会のフランシスコ教皇（８５）が、イタリア・ローマ市内のレコード店にふらりと立ち寄り、数枚のレコードを手に取って眺めた後、祝福を与えて店を後にした。（写真は資料写真）
　バチカン（教皇庁）の関係者はＡＦＰに対し、教皇は１１日夜、パンテオン神殿近くにあるレコード店「ステレオサウンド」を訪れ、最近改装が済んだばかりの同店を祝福したと語った。店主は教皇の旧友とされる。
　アルゼンチン出身の教皇はかつて音楽の力について熱弁し、クラシック音楽だけでなくタンゴも好きだと語ったことがある。
　バチカンニュースによると、教皇は店主の娘から贈られたレコード１枚を手に、店を立ち去った。教皇が店にいる間、店の外には１０分ほど人だかりができたが、教皇はコメントすることなく、白いフィアット５００Ｌに乗り込みその場を後にした。店主の話では、教皇は２００１年に枢機卿になって以来の「お得意様」だという。
　教皇は、時に予定外の行動をすることで知られる。過去には、ローマ市内へ自ら新しい眼鏡を作りに行ったり、整形外科靴を買いに行ったりしたこともある。
　また、歴代の教皇に比べ簡素に暮らしており、同市内の宿泊施設内の広さ５０平方メートルの控えめな部屋に居住している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/01/13-12:24）

Pope Francis, a lover of classical music, made a surprise visit to a Rome record store to bless the premises -- and picked up some vinyl while there.
The 85-year-old pontiff slipped into Stereosound, located across from the Pantheon, on Tuesday evening to bless the shop after its recent renovation.
The Argentine pontiff, who has previously spoken of the power of music, has been visiting the little family-run store for decades, well before he became pope.
After Tuesday's trip, he left with a gift -- a 33 RPM record of classical music, according to Vatican News.
It was a quick visit, immense, great, human, wonderful! I have no other words, Tiziana Esposito, daughter of the shop owner, Letizia Giostra, told AFP.
He has been coming, as a bishop, archbishop and cardinal, to buy classical music discs, both for himself and as gifts.
He is a great music lover, of opera, voices. He especially loves Wagner, he knows what he likes.
True to his roots, the pope is also a great lover of tango, she said, describing him as a special person.
She confirmed she gave Francis a box set during the visit, which she said lasted around 20 minutes.
While he was inside the shop, which is painted white and filled with CDs and vinyl from the Beatles to classical composers, a small crowd gathered on the street outside.
However, the pope made no public comments as he got into his white Fiat 500L and was driven away.
The previous pope, Benedict XVI, is also known for his love of music, taking great joy in playing Mozart on the piano.
Francis is known for being unpredictable and living simply.
He lives in modest rooms in the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse in the Vatican, carries his own briefcase and makes his own phone calls.
In 2015, two years after being elected head of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics, he went to an optician in central Rome to change his glasses.
The following year, he went to another shop to buy some new orthopaedic shoes.