I’ve never had an assignment that was so
frightening in that I had no idea what I
was going to shoot
the biggest challenge to photographing
the Vatican that I found was simply
getting in there it’s like a gigantic
curtain just to get behind this curtain
takes weeks I had the idea to befriend
the Pope’s personal photographer
francesco sforza we pretty quickly
developed a really really strong
friendship the access from that point
was was remarkable I could stand right
beside him they’re always you know quite
a few people around him I was able to
get the proximity to really see the
expressions on the faces of the pilgrims
that really captivated me I personally
can’t think of a world leader who is so
frequently greeted and embraced and
treated like a long-lost uncle once they
got to know me and they trusted me then
I was able to do things that even
now–if seemed kind of unimaginable to
work with in st. Peter’s Basilica and be
able to walk around on the on the
catwalk all the way around the top of
the Basilica during a service where the
Pope is down below I think it’s gonna
feel surreal that I was able to witness
those things and at the same time it’s
been a really remarkably memorable
experience it has been work it has not
been what I would call a spiritual
experience although being around Pope
Francis in seeing in my opinion seeing
how genuine a person he is as has been
in many ways inspirational of course the
picture that I think is really going to
make the difference for me on this
assignment came on Christmas Day
Pope Francis was greeting a number of
people and immediately afterward
Francesco says to me in a whisper he’s
going to the Sistine Chapel
he goes in and he’s standing there for
all of three or four seconds and then he
leaves and have a hunch that that might
have been his Christmas present to to me
and Francesco he is in the process of I
think clearly becoming an historical
Pope I think that he is doing some
things that it will be very difficult
for future Pope’s to undo and in that
way I think it’s a very compelling
reason to do this story now
you
frightening in that I had no idea what I
was going to shoot
the biggest challenge to photographing
the Vatican that I found was simply
getting in there it’s like a gigantic
curtain just to get behind this curtain
takes weeks I had the idea to befriend
the Pope’s personal photographer
francesco sforza we pretty quickly
developed a really really strong
friendship the access from that point
was was remarkable I could stand right
beside him they’re always you know quite
a few people around him I was able to
get the proximity to really see the
expressions on the faces of the pilgrims
that really captivated me I personally
can’t think of a world leader who is so
frequently greeted and embraced and
treated like a long-lost uncle once they
got to know me and they trusted me then
I was able to do things that even
now–if seemed kind of unimaginable to
work with in st. Peter’s Basilica and be
able to walk around on the on the
catwalk all the way around the top of
the Basilica during a service where the
Pope is down below I think it’s gonna
feel surreal that I was able to witness
those things and at the same time it’s
been a really remarkably memorable
experience it has been work it has not
been what I would call a spiritual
experience although being around Pope
Francis in seeing in my opinion seeing
how genuine a person he is as has been
in many ways inspirational of course the
picture that I think is really going to
make the difference for me on this
assignment came on Christmas Day
Pope Francis was greeting a number of
people and immediately afterward
Francesco says to me in a whisper he’s
going to the Sistine Chapel
he goes in and he’s standing there for
all of three or four seconds and then he
leaves and have a hunch that that might
have been his Christmas present to to me
and Francesco he is in the process of I
think clearly becoming an historical
Pope I think that he is doing some
things that it will be very difficult
for future Pope’s to undo and in that
way I think it’s a very compelling
reason to do this story now
you
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