Pope Rescued by Firefighters After Getting Stuck in Elevator

(Bloomberg) -- It wasn’t a lightning bolt from heaven but a short circuit that trapped Pope Francis in a Vatican elevator, making him late for his weekly blessing.

The Pope began his Sunday Angelus by apologizing for arriving several minutes late to the noon audience that he delivers from his apartment window to the faithful who gather in St. Peter’s Square below. The Pope said a “drop in voltage” stopped the elevator, prompting the papal rescue.

“Thank God that the firefighters came and I thank them very much,” he said. “After 25 minutes of work, I was able to get out.” He then asked the crowd to applaud his rescuers before continuing with the weekly blessing.

The Pope also named 13 new cardinals, including clergy from Cuba, Guatemala, Congo, Indonesia and Morocco, as he continues to expand the geographic representation of the so-called princes of the Catholic Church. Most of the new cardinals are under 80, making them eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. They will be officially elevated to the position of Cardinal at a ceremony in Rome on Oct. 5.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Davis in London at abdavis@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Matthew G. Miller at mmiller144@bloomberg.net, Sara Marley, Amy Teibel

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