Meet Pope Benedict's 4 'Guardian Angels'

Loredana, Carmela, Cristina, and Rosella
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 19, 2011 1:13 PM CDT
Meet Pope Benedict's 4 'Guardian Angels'
Pope Benedict XVI attends the Palm Sunday procession in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican on April 17.   (Getty Images)

Infallible, maybe, but Pope Benedict still needs help around the house. Worldcrunch (via Time) provides a look at the pontiff's everyday life, including the four "guardian angels" who help him:

  • Four lay women who have taken vows of poverty and chastity work in his Vatican apartment. Loredana runs the kitchen (pasta is her specialty) with help from Carmela (who handles baking and the pope's wardrobe). Cristina runs the chapel and Rosella his archives.

  • Benedict also has an aide who travels with him and waits his table, along with two personal secretaries.
  • He starts his day with a 7am Mass and retires about an hour after the 8pm newscast of state broadcaster RAI.
  • "The people surrounding him are in effect a real family for the pope," notes Worldcrunch. Benedict almost never watches other TV, though he's acknowledged catching classic black-and-white movies with the group. He also takes his lunch with them every day.
Click to read more about the pope's daily routine. (More Pope Benedict XVI stories.)

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