The Holy See has called for the return of thousands of his special papal medals after discovering a spelling mistake: It’s not “Lesus.” It’s Jesus.
The Vatican Information Service reported that more than 6,000 medals from the Italian State Mint contained the mistake. The medals are supposed to commemorate the pope’s first year in office, and sport a portrait of him on one side and a Latin phrase on the other: “Vidit ergo Jesus publicanum et quia miserando antque eligendo vidit, ait illi sequere me,” CBS reported.
The translation?
“Jesus, therefore, saw the publican, and because he saw by having mercy and by choosing, He said to him, ’Follow me.’” The pope said he was inspired by that phrase as a teen, CBS reported.
Only on Pope Francis’ medal, it reads “Lesus, therefore …”
The Telegraph reported that 200 of the medals were forged in gold, 3,000 in silver and another 3,000 in bronze. They’ve been recalled from the Vatican Publishing House in St. Peter’s Square. Meanwhile, four of the medals already sold are likely destined to become valuable items for collectors, Catholic News Service said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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