It was necessary to know the shoe size and Caecilia Jones of Arlington knew just whom to ask.
She called her sister, who lived in Bavaria and asked that she look up the number of Father Georg, the new Pope Benedict XVI’s brother. The number was found and Caecilia got her answer. For the next few weeks, she took up white wool and began knitting. She was compelled to knit the socks after Joseph Ratzinger, a Bavarian, a countryman, was selected to be Pope. It takes almost a week to knit a pair of socks and four pairs were made and sent to Germany. Father Georg said that he would see that his brother received them as he would personally deliver them to the Vatican. Caecilia didn’t stop at four, she knitted two more pairs and sent them on as well. Months past and then the letters started to arrive before Easter the following year. The letters were signed by the Assessor to the Pope, a Msgr. Gabriel Caccia. He thanked Caecilia for the socks and sent Easter greetings from her countryman, Pope Benedict XVI. Caccia apologized for the delay in response, explaining it to the overwhelming volume of mail that Pope Benedict XVI receives.