Paul VI was the pope who inaugurated what are known as "apostolic journeys" with his visit to the Holy Land in 1964, one year after being elected. While he was there, the Pope decided that the shoes he wore to tour the Holy Land would be the same shoes he would end his pontificate with when he died in 1978.
IVAN MARSURA
Director, Museum of the Popes
There is an interesting fact that came out after Paul VI's canonization and it is related to the shoes he was wearing after his death. They are the same shoes that he used during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1964. And when he returned to Rome, he would give these shoes to one of his secretaries, expressly asking to be buried in them because he had walked the streets of Jerusalem with them and he wanted to retrace Jerusalem in heaven with these shoes.
In an exhibition for the 60th anniversary of his election, there are some pieces from the pontificate of Paul VI. For example, a copy of the hammer that he used to open the door of the Jubilee Year in 1975. The handle was molded in clay so that it would have the exact shape of the pope's hand.
In addition, there are some handwritten documents and other objects from the Second Vatican Council, which Pope Paul VI led after the death of Pope John XXIII. A chasuble that he wore on September 14, 1964 is preserved from this event.
IVAN MARSURA
Director, Museum of the Popes
We have a cassock from the Secretariat of State, a chasuble from the Archbishop of Milan, and another chasuble used during the Second Vatican Council. In particular, there is a stole that was used by nine popes and, of course, by the future St. Paul VI. This stole is special because five future saints wore it.
This stole was worn by popes from Leo XIII to John Paul II. In fact, the latter wore it on his trip to Fatima just one year after his assassination attempt in 1981.
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