When meeting the pope it is
\ncustomary to offer him a gift, and Benedict XVI has amassed many tokens
\nof esteem. Former British prime minister Tony Blair gave him a painting
\nof the Catholic convert Cardinal Newman and Saudi Arabia’s King
\nAbdullah presented him with a jeweled scimitar.<\/p>\n
When the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, met the pontiff he gave him
\nthe Holy Grail, a beer brewed in Masham, North Yorkshire.<\/p>\n
It was the highlight of the archbishop’s first trip to Rome to
\ncelebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and to cement cordial
\nrelations between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches.<\/p>\n
Following their 15-minute chat in the Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le
\nMura, believed to be the burial place of St Paul, Sentamu said: “I told
\nthe brewery I was meeting the pope and they made a special brew for
\nhim. I heard he’d been given some Black Sheep ale and liked it. So I
\nbrought that and the Holy Grail.”<\/p>\n
The gifts pleased the pope, who is Bavarian by birth and prefers beer
\nto wine and water. That the tipple was a one-off would have also suited
\na pontiff with designer flourishes. During a two-hour service, which
\nwas peppered with incense, chanting, coughing and ringtones, his
\nruby-red Prada loafers peeped out from under his ivory robes.<\/p>\n
“I was very impressed by the pope,” Sentamu said. “He cares about human
\nbeings. He is such a deep theologian, it drives him to compassion. He
\nis not a starchy person, but people look at his writings, they are very
\nprecise, and think he is like that … but he is very warm.”<\/p>\n
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\nis the beer given which includes the motto “Tempered over burning
\nwitches.” Which prompts the question “What is the speed of
\nthe unladen sparrow and are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not
\none of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will. “<\/p>\n