dramatic goodbyes Feb. 21, 2013

The Pope Could Fly His Own Helicopter Into the Sunset, If He Wanted To

By Joe Coscarelli

Pope Benedict XVI (C) boards his helicopter for The Vaticcan after his plane arriving from Cuba landed at Rome's Ciampino airport on March 29, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI left Cuba the day before, heading home at the end of his first trip to Spanish-speaking Latin America which also included a visit to Mexico.

Photo: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty

When Pope Benedict XVI leaves his job a week from today, not only will the “historic moment” be filmed and broadcast live, but he’ll take a theatrical helicopter ride to his vacation home. If the Pope really wanted to take his farewell to full reality-show heights, though, he’d fly the thing himself, waving all the way up: According to the Catholic News Agency’s fun facts section (via Matthew Keys), “Pope Benedict XVI has a pilot’s license for the papal helicopter and likes to fly from the Vatican to the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, but the pope does not have a driver’s license as he never learned to drive a car.” There we go: a new skill to acquire with all that upcoming free time.

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Pope Will Fly a Helicopter Into the Sunset

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