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October 22, 2003
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Vatican City
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1991
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James L. Stanfield
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“Scarlet-covered walls surround the vestment of papal white that a new Pope, Pius XII, donned in 1939 in the Room of Tears. When a cardinal’s conclave completes its grueling election task in the adjoining Sistine Chapel, the new pontiff retreats to this modest chamber and selects symbolic garb. Preceded by puffs of white smoke and the cry of ‘Habemus papam!—We have a pope!’ he then emerges onto the balcony of St. Peter’s to greet the cheering crowds. Inevitably, joy and sorrow mingle; the room’s name, of uncertain origin, suggests the gravity of the occasion.”
—From the National Geographic book Inside the Vatican, 1991
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