Some little known facts about the famous papal red shoes.

The red shoes worn by Popes dates back to the early Roman times. Kings of Rome and Pontifex Maximus (high priests) wore red boots!

Popes became the Pontifex Maximus, and adopted the red shoes when Christianity became Rome’s official religion.

Red shoes are worn by the pope, but not many recent popes have opted for them (aka Pope Francis). Benedict XVI actually brought the trend back after some time of discontinued use.

Some people say the red is symbolic of the blood of martyrs.

They were rumored to have been made by Italian luxury designer Prada but they are infact manufactured by papal shoemaker Adriano Stefanelli located in Novara, Italy.

The red papal shoes are one of the only remnants of the former red color of the papal garments group from ancient times.

So far we haven’t seen the newly appointed Pope Francis in the red shoes. We can only assume there must be at least 200 pairs of several shades and styles of red shoes in the papal closet. That would definitely qualify him as a true Shoeholic, a man of style.

Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II were buried in their red leather papal shoes.

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