Congressman Bob Brady was so impressed with Pope Francis’ speech at The White House on Thursday that he decided he needed to claim a memento of the occasion. Which he did by stealing the glass of water that his holiness drank from during his address.
But rather than keeping this act of thievery to himself, Bob Brady, who is a devout Catholic and the Democratic representative from Pennsylvania, took photos and explained exactly what he had planned for the water.
That was only after he took a drink of the glass of water himself though. According to the Daily Mail , Bob Brady immediately sauntered towards the podium once Pope Francis had finished his speech. He then quickly grabbed the glass that was still filled with water.
After getting ahold of Pope Francis’ leftover water, Brady then took a drink of it himself, hoping to pick up some of the energy and the goodwill that he might have left in his backwash.
Congressman Bob Brady grabs drinking glass used by #Pope #Francis and takes sip! http://t.co/fOJlwwKPrx pic.twitter.com/bjTvCL130H
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) September 25, 2015
Once Bob Brady had drank some of the water, he then gave some to his wife Debra and some members of his staff, before admitting that he planned on now giving the rest of it to his grandchildren.
However, rather than allowing those he deemed worthy to hold the glass, Brady instead poured the water into the mouths of his wife and two members of his staff.
Rep. Bob Brady drinks from Pope Francis’ water glass and shares it with his staff: http://t.co/72dtuZy6gm pic.twitter.com/gb5yV06Fr1
— ABC News (@ABC) September 25, 2015
Bob Brady, who actually pulled the same stunt at Barack Obama’s inauguration, explained his reasoning behind his actions to Philly , asking, “How many people do you know that drank out of the same glass as the pope?”
Speaking about the incident, Chief Of Staff Stan White told ABC News , “The congressman is a Catholic and has immense respect for the Holy Father… [Brady] was immensely moved by the speech. He thought the Holy Father spoke to issues he cared deeply about… especially caring about the poor and the Holy Father’s concern for our environment.”
Pope Francis is actually heading to Philadelphia over the weekend, and Representative Bob Brady has confirmed that he will once again be in the crowd to hear what the Holy Father has to say.
Pope Francis’ Philadelphia leg of his U.S. tour will start on Saturday, and Brady will then attend a Holy Mass led by Francis, who will also speak in the city, too. Pope Francis is currently in New York City, having previously arrived in Washington, D.C.
(Photos by Mark Wilson/Getty Images & Rep. Rob Brady)
