Pope blesses hundreds of Harley-Davidsons

June 16, 2013 @ 8:24 am


Harley Davidson motorcycles riders park their motorcycles in Via della Conciliazione leading to the Vatican, seen at left, as they wait for Pope Francis to drive by to bless them ahead of mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, June 16, 2013. The riders are gathered in Rome for a four-day event to celebrate the motorcycle company's 110th anniversary. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) | Zoom
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VATICAN CITY (AP) - Biker culture came to the Vatican on Sunday as Pope Francis blessed thousands of Harley-Davidsons and their riders celebrating the manufacturer's 110th anniversary with a loud parade and plenty of leather.

Thundering Harley engines nearly drowned out the Latin recitation of the "Our Father" prayer that accompanied Francis as he greeted the crowd before Mass. Standing in his open-top jeep, Francis drove up the main boulevard leading to St. Peter's Square, blessing the thousands of people in what was a giant Harley parking lot.

Once the service got under way, bikers in their trademark leather Harley vests sat in the square alongside nuns and tens of thousands of faithful Catholics taking part in an unrelated, two-day pro-life rally.

Francis addressed them both afterward, giving a blessing to the "numerous participants" of the Harley gathering.

Tens of thousands of Harley owners from around the world descended on Rome for the four-day anniversary of the American manufacturer.

The main events were Sunday's Vatican blessing and a parade Saturday past the Colosseum and other historic landmarks _ adding color, traffic and noise to an already colorful day in downtown Rome, thanks to a gay pride march.

Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported that six bikes were involved in a pileup Saturday on the main ring road around the capital, while a Swiss biking couple were killed in a highway crash on Wednesday.

Earlier in the week, Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based, Harley gave Francis two white classic Harleys for the Vatican police force to use.

There was something a bit incongruous about the Harley crowd _ known for its "Freedom" motto, outlaw image and adventuresome spirit _ taking part in a solemn papal Mass to commemorate a 1995 encyclical on the inviolability of human life.

"Evangelium Vitae" is a roadmap of the church's teaching against abortion, euthanasia and murder. Harley's advertising for its 2013 bike collection reads "Live life on your own terms. More than 30 ways to defy the status quo."

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, noted that there were probably quite a few Catholic riders in the crowd and that regardless, anyone is welcome to a papal Mass.

"I know great people who have big bikes," Lombardi quipped.

In his comments to the pro-life crowd, Francis offered prayers "for every human life, especially the most fragile, defenseless and threatened." But he stayed away from saying anything more polarizing about abortion or contraception.

He then spent a good half-hour after the Mass caressing, kissing and chatting with a few dozen sick or disabled people in the square, including one on a motorcycle wearing Harley garb.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (41)


  • Add A Comment

  • Moondoggie wrote...
    Cool, leftover comments from last week!
    March 13, 2013 10:42 am
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    Luke Burbank and company
    March 13, 2013 10:45 am
    are wondering if the new Pope will get with the modern world and get rid of those out of date restrictions on people killing their offspring.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    Congratulations fellow Catholics!
    March 13, 2013 10:46 am
    We are no longer popeless. I guess it's true what they say, pope spring's eternal.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Right country, but I'd have guessed
    March 13, 2013 11:31 am
    Leonardo Sandri. ..... None the less, we have the first Pope from Latin America.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    Yep!
    March 13, 2013 12:21 pm
    I don't care how much gets said about Catholics. I will always be proud to be one.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • po_guy wrote...
    "gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood"
    March 13, 2013 1:07 pm
    Now that is a whole mouthful of abomination, huh? God help us when that kind of filth gets disseminated.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    What?
    March 13, 2013 2:47 pm
    What are you talking about?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    see his actual last name though...?
    March 13, 2013 1:58 pm
    dude's straight up Italian. both parents are from there.

    they just "ended up" there somehow...hmmm...

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Italians in Argentine are like Irish in America.
    March 13, 2013 2:39 pm
    It's called 19th century immigration. And Argentina 150 years ago was much friendlier to Catholics than the USA.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Wils20 wrote...
    Big deal
    March 13, 2013 11:01 am
    It's going to be another pedifile.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    At least spell check your idiot thoughts
    March 13, 2013 11:07 am
    please...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • 0623 wrote...
    spell check
    March 13, 2013 1:18 pm
    Are you sure he didn't mean "pedifile"? Perhaps Francis loves to ride bicycles. It's already been said that he rides the bus.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HLC wrote...
    I wonder if it's Obozo.
    March 13, 2013 11:07 am
    He was just voted the most powerful person in sports. Thats almost as silly as the Nobel so becoming a pope is in his wheelhouse. Ala won't like that.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
    March 13, 2013 2:00 pm
    zzzzzzzzzzwehateobamawe'refoxnewssheepzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

    we get it.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • bmaddy wrote...
    Fantasy Land
    March 13, 2013 12:14 pm
    Where are all the little boys at?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    LOL, you are so witty!
    March 13, 2013 12:27 pm
    Is there anything funnier than pedophilia? LOL. Idiota.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • bmaddy wrote...
    Hmmmm
    March 13, 2013 12:41 pm
    Truth hurts!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    Your attempts at humor hurt.
    March 13, 2013 1:05 pm
    Better luck next time.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JMGilday wrote...
    Comments section is reserved
    March 13, 2013 12:37 pm
    For haters, anti-Catholics and the mentally impaired.

    All others who wish to give this man at least a month in his position before condemning him, please post elsewhere

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hayduke wrote...
    Sorry, JMGilday, but you know it's just going to be SSDD
    March 13, 2013 12:50 pm
    Now, if the new guy actually REALLY cleans house, pays victims claims without lawyering up and blaming the victim, AND gets rid of it's known pedophile priests without shuffling them off to another unsuspecting parish, that would be something worth applauding.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    OK, Hayduke - at least YOU might be willing to give him a chance.
    March 13, 2013 1:16 pm
    That's something the blind haters will never do. ....... And in reality it's not just the abuses that make the haters hate. Those who hate Catholics usually will do so anyway, reasoned excuse or not.

    But, guess what. Pope Francis WAS elected to clean house. He's not necessarily a Cardinal O'Malley, but...........

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    actually, hayduke, agreed.
    March 13, 2013 2:03 pm
    i hope this guy does clean house.

    and maybe update things a bit.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Papoon wrote...
    poverty
    March 13, 2013 1:16 pm
    You know he isn't going to live in poverty as his namesake did. He will live a luxurious life. He will say mass surrounded by millions of dollars of golden trinkets.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JMGilday wrote...
    Papoon
    March 13, 2013 1:35 pm
    If you'd bothered to learn anything about the man before spitting your bile, you'd know that, when he took over as cardinal, he chose to forsake the palace, limo and servants of his predecessor to have more money to aid the poor - his chosen people. Respond to THAT, you scumbag...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Papoon wrote...
    nonsense
    March 13, 2013 1:58 pm
    He is the pope now and he will say mass surrounded by gold, that is a fact. Gee, my opinion is bile? You must be a real sensitive loser. Calling me names? I feel sorry for you for being unable to deal with someone who has a different opinion than you.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Jorge (now Francis) is a man of the people forsaking personal comforts and conveniences.
    March 13, 2013 2:51 pm
    And surroundings mean nothing if they are nothing but props. It's not like Francis is going to personally use the gold. And you can't eat gold. ... But I wouldn't put it past this Pope that it another human being needed the help, some of that gold to another use.

    Learning more of him, he reminds me of a Father Andrew I knew once. Given a car by his parish, he soon gave the car away to a poor parishioner who needed transportation to a new job to feed his family.

    We can never know the future, but let us keep hope that a good man will remain so and be a good Pope.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • William Lawn wrote...
    So Mr. ron, a Jesuit named Francis?
    March 13, 2013 3:01 pm
    Unusual, don't you agree?

    At first glance he doesn't look to the manager/reformer that the Church probably needs, but he sounds like a good man.

    Pious, as the Church tends to term it.

    But probably not the guy that will deal with the Church's issues. Especially the sexual ones.

    Hope I am wrong. They do a lot of good and they've done a lot of bad.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    An attempt at humor, Lawn ?
    March 13, 2013 3:38 pm
    Don't quit your day job.

    But all the folks in the Society of Jesus are not named Jesus - no matter how popular the name is given in Latin America. .. And perhaps the Pope chose Francis as a nodding respect to the Franciscans. .... In any event, he sounds like a Franciscan at heart. ... Not that most readers here know what either of us is talking about.

    But I do disagree with you on the sexual issues. While Francis is traditional on abortion and gay marriage. I believe he has stood forthright with Cardinal O'Malley to rid the Church of abusive priests (and others). As Pope, just give him a chance to do right.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • William Lawn wrote...
    Mr. ron, I haven't had a "day job" since May of 2001
    March 13, 2013 5:23 pm
    Not even a night one.

    Ron, are you looking at Rick Santorum right now on CNN? My heavens what a tool. A jab at President Obama, while discussing the new Pope.

    Good luck Mr. ron. Someday the real sexual issues will have to be dealt with by the Church.

    Men and women have sex.

    The Church needs to recognize that.

    Even men who are priests.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Mr. Lawn. Two things I try to avoid are Rick Santorum and CNN.
    March 13, 2013 7:52 pm
    But, We should count ourselves as lucky that this new Pope will clean up unpriestly abuses. ... Otherwise, I expect that the condemnation (but practical acceptance) of birth control will continue - at least until there is a revelation that birth control precludes the need for abortion, though he may soon accept it.

    Abortion, on the other hand, is likely never to be accepted, either by this Pope, the Church or most of its adherents. So long as life is defined as life, don't expect it.

    And on all other matters, don't expect the Church to change to fit the ever changing morality of society. ... The church has a right to its beliefs, as do you, or anyone else. If those beliefs become incompatible, well that's what freedom of association is all about. No one forces you to be Catholic - or Baptist - or atheist, for that matter.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hayduke wrote...
    My willingness to give him a chance is quickly fading
    March 13, 2013 2:26 pm
    From a speech he gave in 2007: "“We aren’t in agreement with the death penalty,” he said during that speech, “but in Argentina we have the death penalty. A child conceived by the rape of a mentally ill or retarded woman can be condemned to death.”

    In other words, he's just another Republican who wants to use the force of governments worldwide to compel rape victims to bear their attackers offspring.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    No, no, he is the head of the church. He leads on what he
    March 13, 2013 2:53 pm
    believes God wants. I don't mind the head of my church telling me what he thinks God expects me. He holds no power over my body. I do however mind politicians doing it because their laws I have to follow whether I agree with them or not.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • William Lawn wrote...
    Gay, can't agree on this one
    March 13, 2013 3:15 pm
    Although you think "He holds no power over my body" and in your case he doesn't. In many cultures he holds more power than any politician.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    You got a point.
    March 13, 2013 4:52 pm
    Truth is the church won't change all that much until we see a younger pope. But I still think there's a differene. Many more Catholics use birth control than not in spite the church's opposition.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }