Pope Francis Pops Into Burger King, Was It For A Whopper? [Video]
While decrying capitalism and everything that goes with it, Pope Francis was recently seen to head into a local Burger King during his visit to Bolivia. Was it because he couldn’t resist a tasty Whopper with fries, or was there a different reason?
While Pope Francis, with his liberal views, rapidly makes himself known as a man of the people, it looked for all the world like he was going to have it his own way by nipping into the Burger King for a snack on Thursday.
A pope walks into a Burger King… http://t.co/XEzmwvpA1M pic.twitter.com/oxqr3OKwuV
— Crux (@Crux) July 10, 2015
However, on arrival at the Burger King, it was noted by onlookers that the windows were all covered with white sheets. The burger outlet was also surrounded by plainclothes Swiss Guard during the visit by the Pope.
Strange but true, it seems Pope Francis merely used the local Burger King outlet to change his robes prior to the open air mass held in the city.
Pope pops into Burger King to change for Mass http://t.co/Qj2gy7idbA pic.twitter.com/pYUVkV3NEB
— BBC Newsbeat (@BBCNewsbeat) July 10, 2015
According to the International Business Times, management at the Burger King in Santa Cruz were more than happy to accommodate Pope Francis when he needed to change his vestments prior to holding the open air mass during his tour of the city.
The Pope had apparently been driving around for around half an hour before pulling up with his entourage at the Burger King. The restaurant was chosen due to its close proximity to the stage set up for the mass and reopened soon afterwards, with the papal bits and pieces still in place.
Pope uses Burger King for quick vestment change in Bolivia http://t.co/Cdhg2t80ty pic.twitter.com/SWtUldMHAj
— ITV News (@itvnews) July 10, 2015
The video above shows the interior of the Burger King once the Pope had finished changing, showing the altar he would have used in the process along with all the items that were used in the mass itself.
The image below shows the papal throne that Pope Francis used on the stage, rather oddly displayed beneath an advertising poster stating that you can meet magic at Burger King.
When ABC News interviewed staff at the Burger King, they asked them if this would be good for business, to which Christian Vaca, the assistant manager, replied, “Yes.”
“Business has been hopping since he was here.”
“It’s really a blessing.”
A blessing indeed. Meanwhile, during his visit to Bolivia, Pope Francis has been speaking about the need for social justice and against a culture “where money rules, rather than service.”
He called on the Bolivian people to look beyond the pursuit of profit, a message which resonates in South America’s poorest country, with 60 percent of the people living below the poverty line.
Pope Francis will also be visiting a notorious Bolivian prison in Santa Cruz on Friday.
So, if you are looking for a blessed burger when visiting Santa Cruz in Bolivia, you now know exactly where to head.
As the Inquisitr recently reported, during his visit, Pope Francis also sampled some of the local coca tea to avoid altitude sickness. Coca leaves are banned in the U.S. as they contain cocaine, making that rather a controversial move too.
[Photo: Pope Francis in Bolivia by: Mario Tama / Getty Images News, Papal throne in Burger King screengrab from video]
