Today's protagonist isn't the president in this photo... nor the one in this one... Rather, it's the person next to him. His name is Luciano Firmani, the elevator operator at the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
He's retired now, but he can make a list of all the high-profile people with whom he's shared the elevator: from Fidel Castro to Putin, from Bush Sr. and Jr., to Obama and Trump. He was one of the people who guided guests to the Apostolic Library, where the pope waited for them.
LUCIANO FIRMANI
“Trump was different. He was a bit... You could tell that his personality was... I was with the Bushes, with Clinton, Obama... These presidents were closer, more social.”
Luciano began working at the Vatican in 1980 and, understandably, his best memories are of John Paul II. He remembers his kindness and his nearness, but also his moments of anger.
LUCIANO FIRMANI
“The time I saw him the angriest was during a synod. I don't remember what the theme of the synod was. He didn't understand why they weren't following his reasoning. I remember he got in the elevator and I accompanied him some floors up. Inside were synod council members, and he was so angry. It was the first time I saw him like that.”
Luciano also remembers how John Paul II faced the difficult battle against Parkinson's disease, which drained a lot of his energy for many activities, except one.
LUCIANO FIRMANI
“He accepted the disease, but tried to hide it. We noticed his symptoms though. There were changes. Staff members would prepare the wheelchair to move him from place to place. To go to Mass in the basilica, he would use the first room. He would catch up with us in the Pauline Chapel, and they adapted everything. It was something everyone had to get used to, but he did have the strength to celebrate Mass even in that condition.”
He also remembers that every time John Paul II ran into Vatican employees, he would ask about their families. In fact, Luciano and his family were able to attend a private Mass the pope celebrated in the chapel of the pontifical apartments.
Luciano retired in 2019, after nearly four decades of working behind Vatican walls, in uncommonly close proximity to the last four popes.
Javier Romero
Translation: CT
