Pope Francis talks to astronauts on the International Space Station
Space Pope is definitely cooler than Young Pope.
Look at him, just casually talking to astronauts in a goddamn (forgive me father) gold chair. And that TV stand. He could be watching Trailer Park Boys on that thing and still look like the most sophisticated guy on the planet.
Pope Francis and astronauts on the International Space Station had their friendly chat on Thursday. They talked about the usual pope stuff: our place in the heavens, the meaning of life, that kind of thing.
This is the second time a pope has video chatted with astronauts on the International Space Station. Pope Benedict XVI did it back in 2011.
“Your little glass palace in totality is greater than the sum of its parts, and this is the example that you give us," Francis said to the crew, which is great. We should all call the ISS the "little glass palace" from now on.
European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli translated the pope's Italian for his fellow crew members.
The pope, sitting in the Vatican Library, wanted to know what the best part of being an astronaut was.
"People can't come up here and see the indescribable beauty of our Earth and not be touched in their souls," said NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik. "As our planet goes around at 10 kilometers a second, there are no borders, no conflicts. It's just peaceful. We hope that the example of what we can achieve together at the ISS is the example for the world and the whole of humanity."
🙏🙏🙏
Keith Wagstaff is an assistant editor at Mashable and a terrible Settlers of Catan player. He has written for TIME, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, NBC News, The Village Voice, VICE, GQ and New York Magazine, among many other reputable and not-so-reputable publications. After nearly a decade in New York City, he now lives in his native Los Angeles.
