Bob Brady of Philadelphia sipped from the same vessel as the pope during his address to Congress and now plans to bless his grandchildren with the liquid

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Pope bands? So boring. Pope dolls? So kitsch. In the great panoply of papal merchandise, congressman Bob Brady of Philadelphia may just have clinched the very best: the Holy Father’s glass of water.



Pope Francis was sipping from the glass during his speech to Congress on Thursday, and when he made his way out of the chamber he left his drink unattended. That’s where Brady stepped in.

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Like a bachelor party attendee spotting a discarded pint, the Democratic congressman plucked Francis’s glass from the lectern. Rather than immediately down the drink, however, he carried it to the confines of his office, to enjoy the pontiff’s water in peace.

“I took a sip out of it,” Brady told the Philadelphia Daily News. His wife Debra and two of Brady’s staffers also quaffed some. “How many people do you know that drank out of the same glass as the pope?” Brady said.

The Daily News said a presumably excited Brady invited Senator Bob Casey into his office to behold the glass of water. “The three dipped their fingers into the glass. Pictures were taken, joy was in the air,” the paper reported.

Once the trio had withdrawn their fingers Brady “poured the rest of the water into a bottle”. He now plans to bless his four grandchildren with the fluid.