Leo XIV Insisted on Black Shoes

Adriano Stefanelli, the shoemaker to the Popes presented Leo XIV with two pairs of white shoes on August 29, writes RomeReports.com. However, Leo XIV did not accept them, insisting that he only wanted black shoes. The shoemaker returned to work and recently delivered a new pair in black.

Stefanelli has made the papal shoes from John Paul II to today’s Pope Leo XIV.

It all began with John Paul II after he fell ill briefly during a Via Crucis. Stefanelli decided that the best way he could help was to make him a pair of shoes.

He says his quality never changes, even for popes: only the finest materials are used. It is the small details that vary. John Paul II wanted rubber half-soles, Benedict XVI preferred all leather, and Francis wore embroidered slippers with a symbolic design. For Leo XIV, Stefanelli followed Benedict's model — in black.

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