Calendar of "cat priests" in Rome gets a twist: "I was never a priest"

For more than two decades, a calendar with photos of young priests posing like models has established itself as one of the most famous souvenirs on newsstands in Rome and around the Vatican.

However, the popular "cat priests" calendar has taken a turn after it was revealed that, apparently, few of those photographed are actually members of the Church.

At 39 years old, flight attendant instructor Giovanni Galizia saw his own face appear on the cover of the 12-photo collection in most of the editions.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica published this week, he revealed: "I've never been a priest."

Giovanni Galizia graces the cover of Rome's "cat priests" calendar on February 25, 2013, days before Pope Benedict XVI left office. - Oli Scarff/Getty Images
The newspaper ironizes and questions whether he "has not lost his vocation". Galizia reinforced: "I repeat: I never have. This story begins with a friend of friends, at a meeting in Palermo many years ago. It was 2004 and the photographer was called Piero Pazzi."

"Chat goes, chat comes, at one point he asked me if I was willing to participate. It was a joke, he already had all the material ready", he added, saying that the photographer himself gave him the clergima - a white collar traditionally worn by clerics.

He said he believes that other "priests" in the calendar are also not from the Church. "[At least] one more, for sure. Maybe it's not even Italian," he told the Italian newspaper.

Italian flight attendant instructor Giovanni Galizia was on the cover of Rome's "cat priests" calendar for more than two decades. - Reproduction / Social Networks
Photographer Piero Pazzi, responsible for the so-called Calendario Romano, told the AP (Associated Press) agency that at least a third of those photographed in the 2027 edition are in fact priests, but did not give details.

Galizia even said "she didn't see anything sexy" in her photo. "I see a close-up, there's nothing sensual. No flirting," he said. "It's just a beautiful photo, of a clean face. An aesthetically beautiful click. A beautiful, symmetrical, pleasant face," he added.

The Italian said that this record has also caused suffering, when a Vatican news portal used his photo to illustrate the story of a priest who trafficked drugs.

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"I had to sue to get them removed. I can still hear my mother's laughter," he told La Repubblica.

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"On the contrary, time is democratic. It passes for everyone. I am left with the memory of a good joke. One click. A few seconds", replied Galizia.

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Source: CNN